


A Matter of Time

by ReyNimanSolo



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Reyux - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Last Jedi
Genre: And light to meet it, Because Hux Always Wants What Belongs To Ren, Darkness rises, Enemies to Lovers, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/M, Hux Is Like The Moon, Hux is Not Nice, I've got a bad feeling about this, Implied/Referenced Torture, Jedi Rey, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Only Hux Is Having Fun, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poor Poe, Rey's Got It Bad Too, Reylo - Freeform, Reyux, Slow Burn, Supreme Leader Armitage Hux, The Dark Side Has Pretty Eyes, The Dark Side Has Pretty GREEN Eyes, X2, let the past die, poor Finn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2019-10-05 09:46:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17322677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReyNimanSolo/pseuds/ReyNimanSolo
Summary: When Rey's search for answers goes sideways, she must decide how far she's willing to go to learn the truth.~*~“What do you want?” she grits out.Hux tsks. “More useless games, Jedi.” He drags slim, pale fingers along the arms of his throne, drawing his elbows in as he sits back. His green eyes bore into hers with malicious delight.“You know what I want,” he says.The words send cold panic down her back. Because she knowsexactlywhat he wants. He made it clear as kyber yesterday. She had laughed in his face and flatly refused. Then the torture had started.





	1. Falling Apart

**Author's Note:**

> May the Force be ever in your favour

Her focus switches between Finn and Poe. He forces her to watch holos of each man as they endure a torture devised explicitly for them. Electricity crackles across Finn's skin, leaving behind streaks of smouldering, burnt flesh. His ankles, restrained in the metal chair’s cuffs, bow out at unnatural angles. Both are shattered. For Poe, blinding lights flash across eyes forced to stay open by harsh, metal retractors embedded beneath his eyelids. Hobbled men can't run and blind men can't fly.

“Have you had enough yet, Jedi?” The smile on her captor's face is caught somewhere between beautiful and terrifying.

Her fists are clenched hard enough to draw blood where her nails dig in. The pain brings focus. Even though she is too far away from wherever her friends are being physically held to locate them, their fear and pain snakes out into the Force nonetheless. It winds around her throat, constricts her heart, until dark spots dance at the edges of her vision.

“You're a _monster_!”

He ignores the insult and though she doesn't see him do anything overt, the screaming from the holograms grows impossibly louder and more desperate, raking across her nerves until she wants to dig her fingers deep into her ears and rip until her skin peels away.

“Let me know when you are finished with the pathetic name calling and wish to give me a reason to make it easier for them.”

She glares at him, heart stuttering, wishing she were stronger, faster, better trained, wishing she hadn't gotten them into this terrible mess in the first place.

“What do you want?” she grits out.

Hux tsks. “More useless games, Jedi.” He drags slim, pale fingers along the arms of his throne, drawing his elbows in as he sits back. His green eyes bore into hers with malicious delight.

“You know what I want,” he says.

The words send cold panic down her back. Because she knows _exactly_ what he wants. He made it clear as kyber yesterday. She had laughed in his face and flatly refused. Then the torture had started.

The screams of her friends go on and on, unrelenting and without pause. If they can endure their suffering, she can certainly endure this. He's made no promises not to hurt her, only that he will cease his torment of Finn and Poe if she complies. Rey shivers, disgust twisting her stomach until bile burns the back of her throat.

Eyes and heart full of hatred, she approaches the dias where he sits upon his throne. He waits with infinite patience for her to make her choice. It's infuriating. Rey feels the darkness tickling around the edges of her mind, whispering that she has the power to end this all right now, end him, even if it means sacrificing Finn, and Poe, and herself to do it. She shoves the feeling away with a low growl.

 _No!_  Giving in to the darkness is a last, most desperate resort. She has to at least try when she knows there are other, less final options.

Hux sighs. “Well, Jedi what’ll it be then? I grow tired of waiting. And, I'm sure your friends would enjoy a reprieve from their current… activities.”

Impossible but her fists clench tighter for a moment before she forces them open, the fingers stiff and numb from the prolonged stress. She does her best to touch as little of him as possible as she slides onto his lap, her butt across one of his legs, her thighs across the other, feet dangling to the side. A shiver of dread snakes along her skin when he curls an arm around her waist. At least he isn't hard.

His scent, a mixture of standard issue Imperial soap, spicy cologne, and clean sweat fills her nose. It's not unpleasant and that somehow makes it so much worse. The hand at her waist slides up, coming to rest between her shoulder blades.

Finn's screams go on and on, hoarse and sobbing. If this keeps up, he'll break and it will be her fault for hesitating. And, unless Hux decides to bite her, a simple kiss holds no such pain, nothing like what her friends are enduring.

Before she can change her mind, Rey leans in, pressing her mouth to his. His lips are soft and warm. She keeps hers tightly closed. His tongue, insistent and wet, licks against her mouth but she resists.

He pulls away, eyes dark with anger. “Open your mouth, Jedi.” His hand clamps around the back of her neck. The other glides along the top of her thighs, gloved fingers searching for a path under her clothes. She pinches her legs together. His hands on her skin aren't part of this deal.

Rey softens her mouth but doesn't open it. The hand at her neck pulls, bringing her mouth back to his. This time, when his tongue flashes out, she lets him worm the slick muscle between her lips. Cinnamon and smoke drift across her tongue. The sensation repulses her even if his taste doesn't. Rey recoils, breaking away. A gossamer strand of saliva stretches between them. She shakes her head, snapping the thread. A violent shudder rolls through her.

Poe's scream ratchets up, high-pitched and ear splitting. From this angle she can no longer see the holograms. She doesn't know what new atrocity they are subjecting him to, only that they're slowly killing him.

“You promised.” Her voice is quiet, the words shaky and unsure. “You said if I kissed you, you'd stop hurting them.”

The hand at her neck threads into her hair. He tightens his grip, pulling. She has no choice but to let her head fall back. His mouth finds the place along her throat where her pulse jumps beneath thin, tender skin.

“What you just gave me isn't kissing, Rey.” His breath is warm in the cool artificial air. She shivers when his teeth nip along her throat, knowing he wouldn’t think twice about ripping it out.

The fingers in her hair loosen and glide back to rest at the base of her neck. He waits until she meets his stare.

“Last chance,” he says with deadly intent.

She holds his eyes for a moment, letting her hatred pour out then licks her lips and leans in. It's easier the second time. She knows to expect the softness of his mouth and the taste of smoky cinnamon. It's still a shock when she finds his mouth open and waiting. The alluring taste of him engulfs her when she licks into his mouth. She focuses on that to keep her mind off the way she's listening to his thoughts so she can give him what he wants.

Rey drags her mouth across his lips then nibbles at his lower one. A quiet sound catches in the back of her throat when she teases her tongue into his mouth, [almost as though she's enjoying the way he kisses her back](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/first-kiss.jpg). Somehow her hands end up buried in his hair as she silently begs for it to end.

The screams from the holos cut off. Deathly silence followed by massive waves of relief surge across the Force. Euphoria floods through her as Finn and Poe are released from their suffering. All the tension leaches from her body. She relaxes down into the feeling, into the kiss, into him. Her hands slide down his chest to fist in his shirt. The kiss deepens, her tongue chasing his each time he darts it away until she's moaning into his mouth, lost and drifting.

He snakes one hand up to grip her chin in a crushing hold. She squeals when he digs his fingers in and pushes her mouth away. Before she can close them, he slides his gloved thumb between her lips. The pad pushes down, immobilising her tongue so she can’t speak.

“Much better, Jedi.” His eyes dance with victory and arousal. Hux pushes his hips up letting her feel how hard she's made him. “I almost believed you that time.”

His free hand curls around her upper arm. He pushes, shoving her off his lap to the stone floor. She lands in a heap of bruised knees and painful wrists. Rey glares at him, rubbing at a sore elbow. A headache starts behind her eyes.

“We'll begin again in two hours. Get out.”

Rey's heart sinks. This isn't over. Not by a long shot. She should have known he'd never be satisfied with something so simple as a kiss.

Security droids with Force dampening armour surround her. She knows it's futile to resist but does it anyway. One of the droids rewards her with the quick zap of an electro-prod. Pain arches her back until the energy dissipates. Limp, they drag her out of the throne room and lock her back in her cell where they cinch the collar and cuffs around her neck and wrists. These too have a dampening effect on her ability to direct the Force.

She needs a plan, something other than the path she's on, something that will give her leverage so she can escape with Finn and Poe. Her thoughts are fuzzy from the prod and from the head bump she sustained when he shoved her off his lap. She needs to buy herself time to think while doing her damnedest to minimize the amount of pain her friends are subjected to.

The security droids are back sooner than seems possible and Rey realises she drifted into a restless, uneasy sleep. The urge to vomit rises as they drag her, unwilling, back to the throne room. The cold air helps clear her head. She stops fighting and approaches, stopping at the edge of the dias.

A flick of his wrist and the droids fall away. She's left alone with him, still cuffed and collared.

“We have exactly ten minutes to come to terms on extending your friends’ reprieve from further interrogation.”

Disgust twists her features. “Is that what you tell yourself it is? Interrogation? Are you such a coward you can't call it what it really is?”

He moves impossibly fast and before she can react, he has her by the throat, his hand wrapped just above her collar.

“Three minute penalty and we are down to less than seven minutes before I send the order to resume their _torture_.” He spits the last word at her. His fingers and thumb dig into her neck.

She tries to grab his wrist but the binders hinder her reach and she can't find purchase. Blood roars between her ears as she fights to breathe around his crushing grip. Darkness begins threading through her vision.

“I'm going to let go now. I suggest you cooperate or your friends will be made to suffer. Five minutes left.” His fingers ease off then slip away.

Cold air rushes into her burning lungs. Rey falls to her knees, gasping in great breaths as she claws at her savaged throat. She looks up to see that he's returned to his throne.

“What do you want this time?” Her voice breaks twice, harsh and raspy against her injured throat.

He sits with one elbow propped on the throne's arm while his chin rests in his palm. He'd look bored of the situation if it wasn't for the deep excitement she feels roiling off him.

“Undress and sit on my lap.” He's sitting up straight now, his hands resting on his knees.

Her stomach sinks followed by an explosion of fury. Rey scoffs. “Seriously? You expect me to believe that me naked in your lap is all you want?”

He shrugs, unconcerned. “Two minutes.”

“What do you offer in return?” She's sweating now despite the cold. Time is moving too quickly.

His beautiful, terrible smile returns. “For every minute you stay upon my lap, I will grant your friends two additional minutes without pain. The timer starts the moment you're seated. Less than a minute left.”

Panic, thick as tar, fills her veins with sludge. “I get my clothes back at the end,” she says.

He leans back and lets the clock tick down without agreeing to her counterterms.

_Stupid!_

He has the advantage when the clock runs out and she all but handed it to him. Jumpy blue light fills the air as the holos flicker to life. Rey's heart seizes then breaks loose in a wild gallop. When her friends begin screaming, so does she. Rey drops her demand, the desire to keep her clothes insignificant against her desperation to stop him.

“Please, the binders.” She raises her bound arms toward him. “I can't undress otherwise.”

Her hatred flares as he takes his time removing the restraints while her friends continue to suffer. She holds the fury close, knowing she’ll need it if she’s to fight.

As soon as she is free, she begins stripping off her clothes. Cold fingers make it difficult to undo buckles and buttons. Tears prickle her eyes and she whispers little encouragements to herself as she disrobes.

Her body breaks out in gooseflesh. Frigid air, made colder by the tormented pleas of her friends, snaps against her bare skin, burning like fire. She refuses to meet his eyes, hasn't dared to look at him since she began to undress.

When the last piece of fabric flutters to the floor, she scrambles up the dias to where he sits. She keeps her head down, eyes averted. All she can see is his lap. He shifts his weight to better accommodate her.

She can feel herself hesitating and she's ashamed. She has the power to make their pain stop and she's just standing here feeling sorry for herself. Breath stuttering, Rey slides back onto his lap, same as before only this time she's nude.

His spicy, clean scent fills her head. The wool of his uniform sleeve is rough against her low back as his arm winds around her waist. He yanks her closer and settles her against him. He's already hard. The hand not around her waist runs along the outside of her thigh.

His warmth seeps into her from all the places their bodies touch. His fingers. His chest. Warmth turns to heat where her bare bottom presses against the rigid length of him through his trousers.

The screaming ceases, its absence rendering her soft and pliant against him. He buries his face in her hair, inhales against her skin.

His hand moves up her thigh to rest at her hip. The feeling of being caged makes her squirm. She realises it's a mistake when he groans and presses his hips up, seeking more friction.

“Most enchanting,” he whispers, voice tinged with need.

She doesn't dignify his words with an answer.

“Three minutes.”

Her pulse races. Time is moving too slowly. Her goal had been an hour in order to give them three but now she's afraid she won't last five minutes.

Too much can happen in an hour especially since his hand continues wandering across her skin. He's tracing lazy circles across her belly.

“Are you as soft as you appear?” he asks, his hands still encased in thick black leather.

She turns her face away, cheeks flaming when he presses his mouth, open and wet against the knob of her shoulder. He traces a delicate pattern across her shoulder with the tip of his tongue then pulls back, blowing cool air across her damp skin. She chokes back a sound, fighting to stay silent and impassive even though her skin is crawling.

“Five minutes,” he says.

His hand spiders up her ribcage, creeping and slow. Before he reaches his goal, she grabs his wrist with both hands. He goes still.

“I get my clothes back after,” she says again.

“A waste of time, I can assure you.”

His fingers skate across her nipple. Already hard from the cold, his touch is electric.

Rey grits her teeth and does her best to ignore her body's response to his knowing touch. She focuses on the blessed silence from her friends, clinging to their feelings of relief so she can anchor herself anywhere but here. Anywhere but where his indecent hands and wicked mouth are setting her skin on fire.

His teeth graze across her nipple as he slips it free of his mouth.

“Ten minutes,” he says, his voice thick and low. Without warning, he shoves her off his lap.

She tumbles to the floor but catches herself before there's too much new damage.

“Get out. You may try again in thirty minutes.”

She manages to grab her pile of clothes before the droids overtake her. They dump her back in her cell and refasten the cuffs. She dresses as best she can around the bindings. Her shirtsleeves hang empty and loose at her sides where she's unable to thread her bound arms through. Once dressed, she fiddles around until she’s able to pull the thin wool blanket around her shoulders and knees. She rocks quietly in the dark, searching for calm and clarity.

The time that had seemed to take forever to earn burns quickly away, slipping like Jakku's sands through her open fingers. Before she is ready, the droids return to fetch her. She wants to resist but is starting to think about conserving her energy for fights she has a chance of winning.

Her thoughts come back to focus when the droids lead her away from Hux's throne room. Fear spikes through her. Maybe he's grown tired of whatever amusement she offers him and has decided it's her turn in the ugly chair.

The reality ends up worse than that. The droids escort her to his private quarters, pausing only long enough to release her from the binders. The collar remains.

Hux sits tucked into an expensive chair.

“Undress,” he says without preamble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Yeah.
> 
> _sigh_
> 
> These two. They haunt me.


	2. Millaflower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Held prisoner by Supreme Leader Hux, Rey's desperate situation escalates.
> 
> ~*~
> 
> “Come closer, Jedi,” he says.
> 
> She takes a few steps toward him but stays out of range.
> 
> His eyes rake along her body, vicious and hostile. His smile belies the ugly intent she feels simmering just beneath the surface.
> 
> “Closer, I said.” His tone leaves no room for argument. He’s running out of patience. She needs to be very careful if she’s to keep control of the situation. Rey steps into his circle, stopping less than a meter away.
> 
> “On your knees.”
> 
> Rey sinks down, a sickening dread constricting her throat. He can only want one thing if he wants her on her knees.

“Undress,” he says without preamble.

Panic tightens her throat. “No,” she manages to grind out. “Not until you tell me the terms.”

“You're filthy and unwelcome to eat at my table in that condition.”

At the mention of food, her stomach contracts, traitorous with hunger.

“So, what? Now you want to watch me use the fresher in exchange for a few scraps? I'd rather starve.”

His eyes darken with dangerous energy and for a moment she fears he's going to rise and strike her.

“Undress or I will do it for you,” he says instead. The threat is clear. If he does it, the experience will be less than pleasant.

His quarters are much warmer than his throne room. It makes disrobing quicker. Like before, she refuses to meet his stare while she strips down. She can feel his eyes crawling over her, eager and hot.

“Fresher is straight back and to the left.” He's letting her go alone. Relief turns her knees to jelly.

She's begrudgingly grateful. Her mouth opens to thank him when he adds, “Remember your friends. Please, don't dilly dally or try anything foolish. I haven't got all day for this.” His dismissal is casual, as though this is some simple piece of business between them.

Renewed hatred, hot and bright, flares through her core. The words of gratitude wither on her lips, dead before she even has time to draw breath enough to speak them.

She hesitates even though she wants nothing more than to escape from him, even if it’s for the fewest of moments. Her fingers touch the collar still secured around her throat.

“It will electrocute me if it gets wet,” she says, voice as soft and unthreatening as she can manage.

His expression doesn’t change but she feels a shift in him. “A dilemma, to be sure,” he says.

Hope flares bright for a moment as she thinks he is considering freeing her.

“And, your dilemma. Not mine.”

Her hope dies, just like everything else he touches.

Out of options for the moment, Rey retreats before he can change his mind. Collar or no, it’s the most freedom she’s had since the mission went to Bantha shit. As soon as she is out of his sight, her mind turns to thoughts of escape. Scenarios tumble through her mind, wild and indistinct.

The interior of the fresher stops her cold. It’s like nothing she’s ever seen before. The walls are alive. Dark green vines cling to the grey tiles. [Star-shaped flowers](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/millaflower-ff121.jpg) stud the greenery, crimson petals bleeding to midnight blue. She didn’t know anything so beautiful could grow in space. The scent the flowers give off fills her with a disconcerting sense of peace and calm in the midst of a desperate situation.

Heeding his warning, Rey wills herself to focus. As alluring as the space is, her stomach turns when she lathers herself with his soap. The scent of him clings to her even after she rinses the foam away. Washing her skin without getting the collar wet was the easy part. Her hair is a different story. She endures a handful of uncomfortable zaps as she does her best to wash her hair without being electrocuted.

Rey dries herself with a warm, soft towel. A silk dress in standard First Order black hangs next to the towel rack. She'll die before she'll wear it for him. Instead of putting it on, she draws her towel closer and prepares to return to him.

His eyebrows go up when he spots her. She can tell he's displeased. “Did the dress not fit?”

He's smoking something that gives off pale lavender smoke. The scent is sweet and unfamiliar.

“The dress is impractical.”

He brings his cigarette to his lips and inhales, turning the tip a dull orange. Pale purple smoke streams from his mouth as he answers. “I fail to see how that towel is any more practical.” He leans over to set his half-finished cigarette aside. “I can see this isn't going to go the way I'd hoped.”

His answer both thrills and terrifies her. She’s thrilled she’s done something he didn’t anticipate. It makes him more human, more prone to mistakes. Mistakes are something she can exploit. She’s also terrified at how he’ll choose to punish her for her continued defiance.

Rey waits, fingers clamped tight around her towel even though she knows he’ll soon force her to remove it. For a moment, she regrets not putting on the kriffing dress even though realistically she knows that, in the end, she'll end up nude regardless of what she starts off wearing. It’s only a matter of time.

“Come closer, Jedi,” he says.

She takes a few steps toward him but stays out of range.

His eyes rake along her body, vicious and hostile. His smile belies the ugly intent she feels simmering just beneath the surface.

“Closer, I said.” His tone leaves no room for argument. He’s running out of patience. She needs to be very careful if she’s to keep control of the situation. Rey steps into his circle, stopping less than a meter away.

“On your knees.”

Rey sinks down, a sickening dread constricting her throat. He can only want one thing if he wants her on her knees. She does her best to remember why she’s doing this, that while he’s occupied with her, Finn and Poe remain unmolested.

Hux points at a spot on the floor between his open legs. “Come.”

Her spine twists, shuddering with revulsion. She hobbles toward him anyway, towel still clutched in one fist. His inner thighs skim along her sides as she settles between his legs. She hates that his warmth feels good against her clammy skin. Rey catches her reflection in the shiny metal hexagon of his uniform belt buckle. Her eyes squeeze shut against the image and she grinds her teeth together. That isn’t who she is. That desperate, wild-eyed woman isn’t herself.

“Look at me, Jedi.”

Rey opens her eyes and forces herself to meet his cold, emerald stare.

His fingers snake around her wrists, pulling until she has to let go of her towel. It stays in place for the moment. He settles her hands along the junctures of his thighs, pressing them into place.

“Don’t move. I wouldn't want to have to restrain you.” His voice says otherwise and she thinks he’d very much like to see her restrained.

Rey watches as he retrieves his cigarette. Her eyes don’t leave his as he takes a long drag, holding the smoke deep in his lungs. He hooks a hand around the back of her head and pulls her in so that their foreheads meet and her mouth is centimeters from his.

“Open,” he says. Tendrils of pale purple curl between them. The smoke that drifts from between his lips stings her eyes.

When her lips part, he crushes his against hers and exhales. His fingers pinch the sensitive skin on the inside of her bicep. The unexpected pain makes her suck in a sharp breath. Thick, harsh smoke claws its way into her lungs until she feels them hitch in protest. He pulls away just in time to avoid her coughing fit.

Tears stream from her eyes as she tries to clear her lungs. Warm heaviness like Bantha wool settles over her thoughts making them floaty and detached. Her fingers tingle. She waves them in front of her eyes, watching as the digits blur and streak. A little giggle escapes her mouth. It's all so silly and contrived.

“What did you give me?” The small part of her mind that's still working fights back. She’s so horrified at her situation that she can’t stop smiling.

He sits back, studying her without answering.

Too much time passes. She knows he’s waiting for something from her but can’t remember what. Whatever it is, the urge to please him washes through her. She wants to do her best to satisfy him. Her hand reaches for her towel, intent on pulling it free. That will certainly please him.

Before she can pull the end loose, the fury she banked earlier spikes through her veins.

“ _No!_ ” Rey forces herself to stop what she’s doing. Her towel stays in place. “If I do it, it will be because you’ve left me no other choice. It will _never_ be because I want to.” Even as she says the words, her mind slips further into whatever drug she’s ingested, taking her fight with it.

“We’ll see,” he says, before going still as marble and just as cold.

“You will never win.” It's the last thing she's able to say in defiance of him before slipping beneath the drug-induced wave of her desire to please him, to incite him, to see him _undone_.

Her eyes roam across his face. His skin is so pale it’s nearly translucent. It reminds her of Jakku’s smaller moon, her favourite of the two. It’s rare beauty circles into view far less often than its larger, darker sibling. She’s spent many a sleepless night under its pale, enchanting spell dreaming of the moment her family returns for her.

Her fury pulses again, weak and dying. She can’t remember why she was angry at him. Not when she finds him as rare and beautiful as her moon with his pale skin and fiery hair. His gravity propels her forward until she’s slotted between his legs again. Her hands fall to his hips where he’d placed them earlier.

This time when he smiles, she sees only beauty, his atrocities burned away in a haze of sweet, lavender smoke.

He reaches out, one hand drawing her head down until her cheek presses against his thigh. His scent envelopes her only this time it’s tinged with something darker, something savage and male. _Him_.

She can’t help herself. She has to touch. Her fingers glide along the hard ridge beneath his breeches, testing its length. His breath hisses in, sending a sharp spike of need arcing up her arm.

Hux grabs her wrist. She whines when he pulls her hand away.

“Not until I say so,” he says, his voice tight with his own need.

She looks up at him through her lashes. High color marks his cheeks. Her eyes follow as the flush creeps down his throat, disappearing under his tight collar. A shiver runs down her back.

Rey pushes herself up, sliding against him. When she’s high enough, she wedges her knees on either side of him and straddles him so she can seat herself in his lap. His hands find her hips as she winds her arms around his neck.

She moves to kiss him but he turns his face aside. When she leans away, he turns back toward her. Eyes dark and triumphant, Hux utters the four words he's waited so long to say to her, the words that set everything in motion so many moons ago, words that mark the beginning of his final rise to power.

“Undress for _me_ , Rey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the beat goes on.


	3. Dust and Ash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse into Hux's motives.
> 
> ~☆~
> 
> “A single turn in the fresher is hardly enough to remove the stain of him from your skin.” Hux buried his face in her hair, overwhelmed by the soft soothing scent of millaflowers. “Not to worry. We have more than enough time to cleanse him from you.”

_“Undress for me, Rey.”_

_From his place behind the outcropping of rock that led to the small canyon, Hux watched with unadulterated shock as the Jedi woman laid her weapon on the ground next to Ren's. She reached for the buckles of her belt. Heart pounding, Hux spun away before they could see him. The rancid smell of war swirled around him in a deathly, choking fog._

She was willing! It couldn't be!

_Hux pressed his back against the rock wall that hid him, trying to clear the ringing in his head. Surely his ears and eyes deceived him, a side effect of the hellish battle he'd just fought. Ignoring the searing heat left behind by the blaster bolts that had grazed his throat and outer thigh during the fight, Hux peeked around the corner. What he saw turned his mouth to dust and ash._

_Ren on his knees before her. One of them had pulled the top of her tunic off her shoulders, baring her to Ren's eager mouth. He held her throat in one gloved hand, the other gripped her hip. His mouth trailed kisses along the taut skin of her stomach.[Head thrown back, pretty little mouth open, the woman was a sight Hux rarely encountered.](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/2fdedbb9a3777cb510d3b6e5889be324.jpg) At the sound of her moaning, Hux became achingly aware of his own sudden need. He palmed himself and bit back a groan._

_Hux watched Ren hook long, leather-clad fingers into the material draped along her hips and yank. His mouth followed the material down her skin as he bared it. Hux saw the way she trembled each time Ren's mouth touched her._

_Her hands fisted in the dark silk of Ren's hair, urging him toward the bare flesh between her thighs. Hux had to bite his lip when she cried Ren's name..._

“What about the food?” she asks, her lips soft against the racing pulse in his neck.

For a moment, Hux is caught between the past and present, sucked in by the lavender haze of the Savorium herb cigarette.

“Food?” he asks, trying to recentre himself.

Her teeth nipping at his throat brings him back. On instinct, he shoves her away, afraid she might sink those perfect little incisors into his jugular and rip until his lifeblood fountains out onto cold durasteel.

Rey holds on, keeping herself in his lap. “Am I not clean enough, then? To be welcome at your table?”

The last of his memory burns away like fog against the rising sun. Hux wraps his arms around her, one low around her hips, the other along the valley of her spine. His fingers play in the damp hair at the back of her neck for a moment before he pulls her close, seating her warmth along the aching length of him.

“A single turn in the fresher is hardly enough to remove the stain of him from your skin.” Hux buries his face in her hair, overwhelmed by the soft soothing scent of millaflowers. “Not to worry. We have more than enough time to cleanse him from you.”

Her mouth touches his, pulling away to keep their contact light when he pushes forward to meet her. She rolls her hips, pressing her weight into him.

“Please, Armitage, I'm so hungry.”

Hux moans as her plea ghosts across his parted lips.

It would be so easy to free himself from the confines of his uniform. So easy to move aside her towel and sink himself deep inside. To claim her for himself.

_Careful, Hux… that your personal feelings not interfere_

He's worked too hard, sacrificed too much, to let his desire for Ren's woman derail his well-laid plans. In time, she will be his and he will use her to break Ren so that none will question Hux's rise to Supreme Leader.

_Patience! Control!_

These are his tools, his weapons to wield. Soon enough, Hux will lay claim to the throne and the galaxy. And to Rey. Soon enough, it will all be his for the taking.

Hux grips her shoulders and pushes until she slides off his lap.

“Get dressed, Jedi, if you're to eat at my table,” he says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short and sweet tidbit while I work to finish the story outline. Upcoming chapters should lengthen out as events begin unfolding.
> 
> I've been sick for the last few days and am leaving out of town on Thursday so it might be a few days before I have time to update again. I promise to make it worth the wait.
> 
> ~☆~
> 
> Art by the amazingly talented Boomdafunk. Her work always inspires.


	4. Riven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A step back in time. Without the past, there can be no future.
> 
> ~☆~
> 
> After the Battle of Crait, she'd renounced him, forsaken him, left him alone with the demons of his past and the ghosts of his future. Literally slammed the door shut on his riven, heartbroken face. It had all been for naught. She knew that now, knew that the Force would not be swayed from its intent. 
> 
> _For all this is as the Force wills it_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please indulge me for the short, necessary Reylo backstory. Have no doubt that we will return shortly to our regularly scheduled Reyux.

“How do we build the rebellion from this?”

Rey stared at her hands. Each clutched half of the shattered lightsaber in a white-knuckled grip. Tears shimmered in her eyes, making the jagged ends of the broken kyber crystal appear to glow.

For Rey, tears were still an exorbitant luxury so she fought with everything she had left to keep them locked inside. Their bitter taste made her stomach churn and threaten to revolt. She hurt. Everything hurt, inside and out.

A warm, golden glow fanned out into the Force, surrounding Rey like a woolen blanket on a frigid Jakku winter’s night.

The General. The Princess. Leia.

_Ben's mother_

Leia reached out, her hands taking hold of Rey's. The warmth moved from the Force into Rey’s hands and up her arms.

The softness of the woman's hands surprised Rey. Her own were rough and calloused and worn in comparison. And yet, where Leia’s hands were soft, the rest of her stood in hard contrast. Not many had the desire to go up against this tiny, powerful woman.

“We have everything we need,” Leia said when Rey met her eyes at last. Their dark depths held the impossible: hope. And in them, she saw the last glimmer of Ben Solo.

The dam inside Rey broke, unleashing a thousand, thousand scratch marks worth of waiting and hoping, of being crushed again and again under the heavy weights of fear and pain, anger and loss. Leia held her, rocking and singing a quiet song in a language Rey didn’t understand. The last princess of Alderaan sang until her voice grew hoarse and the well of sorrow ran dry.

When Rey finally pulled away, chest hitching but more in control, she found herself alone with Leia.

“Where are the others?” Rey asked.

“They’ve already disembarked,” Leia answered.

Rey swiped her palms across her eyes. “We’ve landed?”

“A while ago. Yes.”

Beyond the transparisteel viewport, the galaxy flashed by with the pulsing blue of hyperspace. They were no longer on the Falcon.

“But this isn't...” Rey's voice trailed away as the world seemed to grow then shrink then grow again.

“Rey? I need you to stay with me, okay? Just a little bit longer. Then you can rest. Can you do that for me?”

“I—I think…” Darkness dragged her beneath its searing, shifting edge.

Rey kicked and clawed, grasping for the surface. The hot, unforgiving sands of her past gave way to cold ocean currents of her future. Fighting. Fighting. Forever fighting. Arms and legs burning from the exertion, lungs screaming for air, at last she broke through the darkness into a softer gray of shadows.

Alone.

Alone in the tight confines of a small, domed room. The sound of heavy rain leaked through the open portals carved in the walls. Air, thick and heavy with moisture, clung to her skin and swirled into her lungs until she felt as though she might drown.

_It’s like something out of a dream..._

Rey sat up from the pallet she’d been lying on, careful not to bang her head on the low ceiling.

The shadows warmed, illuminating the space around her with a soft, golden glow. It hummed with an organic awareness, almost as though she sat contained within some larger living organism that offered her protection in exchange for nothing more than her presence within it.

_Why are you here?_

“Leia sent me.” Rey shivered as time seemed to skip. That hadn’t been what she’d meant to say. She didn’t know where the words had come from, only that she felt as though she’d said them once before and been met with crushing disappointment.

The answering silence went on long enough that she started to think she’d imagined it. Rey buried her face in her hands and searched for calm.

“Where am I?” she asked the empty air.

_It doesn't matter where, only why_

Rey’s head snapped up. She hadn’t imagined it that time.

“Who’s there?” She scanned for a weapon, found one in a short iron rod next to the dark fireplace.

There wasn’t much room to manoeuvre in confined space. No stranger to claustrophobia, she held her ground against the rising panic as she scrambled to arm herself.

“Rey.” His signature blazed to life in the Force, erratic and unstable, its jagged edges snapping across her skin.

“Kylo—” Her breath seized in her chest, locking her in place.

“Why are you here?” This time when he spoke, his voice was solid and clear.

She turned, improvised weapon raised and found him seated in a small nook, legs crossed, hands resting in his lap. He carried no weapon she could see.

“Leia...your mother sent me.” Rey didn't know how she knew that, only that it was true.

Kylo's face twisted into a mask of anguish, highlighting the deep shadows beneath his eyes.

“Why are _you_ here?” he asked again.

“I don't know,” she whispered. “Where is here?”

Kylo sighed and looked away. An agonising amount of time passed. She ached to speak but no words came.

“Go away.” His voice was quiet with desperation. “ _Please…_ ”

_Leave me alone_

“Kylo—”

“No!” He turned back to her, eyes vicious and bright, his too pale skin sallow in the soft light. “It's too late! It's been too late for a long time.”

Something inside her split, rending like a planet hollowed out, reformed into something alien and unholy with the power to destroy entire star systems.

_You're not alone_

_Aren't I?_

After the Battle of Crait, she'd renounced him, forsaken him, left him alone with the demons of his past and the ghosts of his future. Literally slammed the door shut on his riven, heartbroken face. It had all been for naught. She knew that now, knew that the Force would not be swayed from its intent.

_For all this is as the Force wills it_

But she hadn't known it then so she'd fled, determined to stay one step ahead of him.

The iron rod fell from her grasp. It made very little sound as it clattered to the floor. He refused to meet her stare as she crawled on hands and knees toward him.

He flinched away when she reached trembling fingers toward the savage mark her hatred had left upon his beautiful, tormented face. Her fingers stopped short of touching.

_I’m not afraid_

_You will be_

His dark, haunted eyes met hers.

_You will be…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My little one shot PWP is getting some P, as in plot, as it becomes its own fully fledged tale. Fear not, the other P will return in due time. 
> 
> Thanks, as always, for reading.


	5. Only In Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’ve got a feeling about this. Good or bad? Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.

_… you will be…_

Her fingers touch only air where his face should be. Rey topples forward until she’s falling through him. Instead of the impact she expects the floor dissolves, giving way to the blue-white glare of a thermal oscillator. She continues falling, her stomach rising into her throat as she pinwheels her arms. Rey spins in midair so that she can look back to where she’s fallen from, arms and legs flailing for purchase to slow her descent and finding none.

_Why? I don’t understand_

Her chest hitches, stealing her breath. In the darkness far above, red guide lights outline a narrow catwalk. A familiar, dark-robed figure leans out over the edge, the shape of her name frozen on his horrified, unmasked face. She tries to scream but a gaping hole, its edges still smoking and sizzling, have replaced her lungs.

_I feel it too_

He grows smaller as she falls faster and faster. Engine vapour envelopes her, clouding him from view. Moist tendrils wrap around her arms and legs, pushing and pulling without mercy until she feels herself condense then shatter into stardust.

The Force whispers around her begging for an audience, their voices competing for her attention, as they have for as long as she can remember. 

_Something inside me has always been there_

She lets them in at long last.

 _… the dark_  
_try to stop yourself…_

 _seductive the dark side is_  
_tempt you it will_

_… it's too late_

The cacophony of voices coalesces, sending Rey crashing back into her body. She’s on her knees, legs folded beneath her. A heavy weight presses across her thighs.

A woman’s head lays in Rey’s lap. Dark hair shot with silver, its lengths twisted into an elaborate array, frames the woman’s face. Skin that grows more pale by the second sits in sharp contrast to the coarse black fabric of the heavy robes Rey wears.

The hilt of her crossguard saber lays half submerged in the growing pool of crimson spreading away from them. The woman’s ribs heave against Rey’s legs as her lungs try to compensate for the loss of blood.

_Dear gods! I didn’t mean to!_

The woman’s eyes dim. Rey cradles the woman’s head in her arms and lowers her cheek to the woman's cooling forehead. Instead of skin against skin, hard durasteel digs into her face. A high keening wail scratches the back of Rey’s throat, the sound distorted by the vocoder embedded within her mask. She turns her face to the sky and begins to rock, helpless to take it all back. Her eyes return to the woman only to find the woman staring sightlessly back at Rey with her own face.

_nooo! come baaack!!_

Rey jolted upright, a scream lodged beneath her ribs. Her fingers flew to her face, finding bare skin instead of the mask. Frigid air prickled against the heat of her cheeks. Heart hammering, she tried desperately to hold back the oncoming storm inside her.

_destruction and pain and death_

_… everything i love_

She slapped her hands against her mouth, unable to contain the dark terror rising from within. It went on and on, a swirling tempest of conflicting emotions that left her blind and deaf as it boiled out.

At last her howls eased, leaving her gasping for breath. Little by little, the darkness faded into gray. Empty and hollow, Rey let her hands fall to her lap. Each breath more even than the last, she came back to herself.

“What _was_ that?” she whispered into the dark.

But she already knew the answer. It had surely been another vision, this one not yet come to pass. She’d learned enough from her time with Skywalker to know that visions took time to understand. Rushing to action without proper reflection led to dire consequences. She’d learned that all too well when she’d made the mistake of willingly placing herself in enemy hands. She also knew that all held to certain truths and that she’d do well to heed its warnings, even if she didn’t fully understand them yet. The knowledge did little to ease her sense of unrest.

When had everything spun so out of control?

The disorder and uncertainty of life on Jakku now seemed so simple and easy in comparison. Harsh though it had been, everything had ebbed and flowed with a familiar, steady rhythm. Each day had blended into the next with barely a deviation. The only true measure of time’s passage lay in the markings she’d etched into the rusted remains of a long dead empire, their sum too great to hold any real meaning beyond their sheer, uncountable number.

Scavenge. Salvage. Trade. Eat. Sleep. Dream.

_only in dreams_

Dreams of islands and forests and oceans without bounds. Things that could never exist on Jakku and yet things that called to her nonetheless with their cool blue siren song. Things that she now knew were infinitely possible.

One thing was for certain. It was no longer wise to stay with Leia and the Resistance. Too much was at stake and too much was unknown. Her vision had revealed a mortally injured Leia, dead by Rey’s own hand. A possible future that Rey would never allow to pass.

She opened her eyes. The world did a slow spin. Restless and unbalanced, she pushed the coarse blanket aside and swung her legs over the side of her pallet until her bare feet rested on the cool floor.

 _Dantooine. We’re on Dantooine_.

Head spinning faster, Rey braced her arms on her thighs and plunged her head between her knees until the spinning stopped.

Skin hot and prickling, she lurched to her feet and made her way past the heavy wooden door of her quarters. Darkness greeted her with a cool breeze. Rey breathed in the soothing night air. Her eyes scanned the horizon, first taking note of the rings of fire that marked the main encampment five hundred meters away. Other than the handful of sleepy sentries patrolling the perimeter, everything lay quiet.

Rey turned her attention away from the camp. Dual moons hung low along the horizon reminding her once more of Jakku.

It seemed so long ago and yet hardly more than two standard weeks had passed. So much had happened. So much had changed. There hadn’t been any time to stop and try to understand.

And, now? Time seemed at a standstill, waiting for her to catch up.

Answers. She wanted them and he held them tight, refusing to relinquish his hold. To what end? None that she could decipher. Anger coiled in her belly and clenched her fists. Her body vibrated as she held back her scream of frustration, her throat already raw from so much spent emotion.

_… come…_

Rey snapped toward the disturbance, suddenly gone still, mind open.

The summons washed over her, more feeling than sound, an odd resonance that raised the light hair on her arms and at the back of her neck. It wasn't unlike the opening of her connections to Kylo only this didn't originate from him. This was something else.

She waited but it didn’t come again. Still, she knew which direction it had come from. It led away from the Resistance. Her vision had foretold as much.

Mind full of resolve, Rey ducked back into her hut. Once inside, she took hold of her pack, removing the book that took up most of its cargo space. She paused to consider its insignificance before placing it in the center of her sleeping pallet. When she’d taken it from the Uneti tree on Ahch-To, she’d been sure it held the answers to all her questions. And, maybe it did, but she’d never know because she couldn’t read it, rendering its wisdom meaningless. In the space it vacated, she stowed water, ration bars, and her rain parka. Without a moment’s contemplation, she placed the broken halves of her lightsaber into the bag then cinched it tight.

Rey settled the pack's straps across her shoulders and slung her staff into its familiar position. Unsure whether it would be the last time she set foot in this place, she took a moment to share her gratitude with the space around her for the peace and protection it had afforded.

After a last look around, Rey stepped outside and headed in the direction of the rising moons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience. This year is proving busy in my real life. What can I say? Real life pays the bills.


	6. No Turning Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’ve forgotten so much,” he mused. His dark eyes danced across hers, digging deep. “Or maybe you haven’t. Maybe you’re still just hiding it all away.” A brutal smile split his lips, revealing teeth that appeared sharp and savage. “Have you really forgotten, Rey?” 
> 
> He pressed the hilt of his saber into her open hand. When she closed her fingers around it, its power hummed up her arm with an unexpected, familiar strength. He let go and took a step back, leaving himself within lethal striking distance should she choose to attack. “Have you forgotten what it feels like? To let the darkness be your guide?”
> 
> _… you’ll be the one to turn_  
>  _you’ll stand with me …_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A difficult chapter to write. So much has become clear about where this leads and where it ends. Everything is about to change.

_… come …_

The summons eddied across her exposed skin like the cool, blue mists of dawn on Ahch-To, guiding her to their source. Her steps whispered through delicate mounds of pale leaves, their edges etched in molten silver. Thin stalks topped with tight clusters of organic material swept across her shins as she passed, leaving a rich scent in her wake. Flowers. A vast plain of them broken only by a dark, indistinct shape on the horizon.

She paused just once [to look](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/amt-1.1.jpg) over her shoulder. The fires surrounding the Resistance camp had shrunk until they blended in with the vast galaxy of stars clouding the night sky. It was impossible to know which direction led back. The slick, dark cavern of loneliness bloomed in her chest. Why did everything have to be so far away?

Rey turned her back on the past and continued forward.

It seemed she walked forever and yet in no time, the dark shape grew larger and more distinct. A stone temple, its edges softened by eons of neglect, took shape. Rey knew nothing of Dantooine’s history, having only learned of its existence the moment she made planetfall after their escape from Crait. It didn’t matter. Energy hummed around the temple, calling her closer. The Force. This place was strong with it. Stronger even then Ahch-To.

Rey drew to a stop just short of the entrance. The temple lay in partial ruins though enough still stood that she could envision it whole.

_… come …_

Her heart kickstarted within her chest. There wasn’t anything left to do but go inside. Rey unslung her staff and took a deep breath.

_this doesn’t go on forever. i know it’s leading somewhere_

She willed her feet to move. Dead leaves crunched beneath her feet whispering the sound of her name. A cold chill ran down her back as she crossed through the stone archway. Three steps in and Rey froze, overcome by the sight before her.

The walls curved away, forming a stone citadel that rose skyward, circling in on itself until the opening above was half the diameter of the floor. The aperture, even cracked and crumbling as it was, focused the ambient light, setting the interior aglow as though it were dusk or dawn rather than the middle of the planet’s night cycle.

Wide, flat bowls filled to overflowing with dark, trailing vines decorated the edges of the temple. Water arced out through the fractured, overgrown planters, the falling drops filling the space with their crystal, echoing melodies where they met stone.

Rey took a few more tentative steps before stopping again. A short set of stairs rose in the middle, each side flanked by dark collecting pools. A flat terrace sat at the top of the steps. In its centre, a towering, sentient organism rose up. Rey recognised it as a blba tree. The species dotted Dantooine’s grassy plains.

This one was by far the largest she’d seen. Its heavy, pale trunk lifted dry, thorny branches skyward, their thick bases thinning to dessicated wisps that gasped for air where they met the night sky far above. Scattered along its scaly edges, sparse patches of yellowed leaves reached for the pale light.

 _… it_ is _you …_

The words compelled her forward until the urge to climb the stairs couldn’t be ignored. Rey took each step without hesitation. She stopped at the top to unsling her pack and rest her staff next to it. The Force moved around and through her. Unbidden, Rey sank into an effortless cross-legged position before the dying tree, eyes closed, hands resting on her knees, just as Master Luke had taught her, and reached out.

The last of the tree’s energy focused around her, pushing and pulling with the same resonance as when she’d envisioned her fall into the oscillator. Unlike her vision, she remained whole and in her body.

_what is this? she asked_

_it’s a chance_

_for what? a chance for what?_

Instead of a reply, the tree’s few remaining leaves rustled in still air, whispering of secrets she couldn’t quite hear. Frustration surged through her veins. More vague answers, answers that invariably led to more questions. The urge to walk away from everything, return home to Jakku nearly broke her meditation. Only the sudden, harsh realisation that Jakku wasn’t home, had never been home, kept her rooted to her place. Tears pricked beneath her closed eyelids.

_please… show me what I came to see_

For the briefest moment, the whispers solidified, taking shape in her mind.

 _… peace is a lie_  
_there is only passion…_

Rey felt his familiar presence at once, like a change in the weather. Her eyes flew open as she lept to her feet. She reached for her staff, found only empty air instead. Her pack, too, was missing. There wasn’t time to dwell on the losses. Other than her staff, none of the items she’d carried would have done her any good at the moment. A larger, far more immediate threat loomed. No stranger to unarmed, close-range combat, Rey squared off, quick and light on her feet, and faced him for the first time since she’d slammed the Falcon’s door on him.

He stood two meters away, still and dark even in the radiant starlight. Though he hid his face inside the hood of his cowl, she knew without a doubt that he was unmasked beneath its shadows. His saber glinted against his hip, half hidden by his robe and no less lethal.

“ _You!_ Why are you here?” she asked, anger edging her words at his uninvited intrusion. His appearance had quieted the whispers, just when she’d been sure they’d been about to reveal more secrets.

Instead of answering, he reached up and took the edges of his hood in his hands. She watched, unable to move or look away. The air slowly left her body as he eased the coarse material back, baring his face.

Thick waves of black hair gleamed in the silver light. His pale skin glowed but the light didn’t reach the darkness shadowing his eyes. Beautiful and broken, a faint glimmer of hope flashed across his face. The [naked want](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/amt-3.jpg) she found in his stare left her breathless.

“You already know why. You’re the one who brought me here.” His voice held a note of quiet resignation.

Exasperation set her face ablaze, the heat fanning across her cheeks and down her chest. She wasn’t doing this. What would be the reason? He’d made his choice when he’d reached for her with the gloved hand of Kylo Ren after they’d won their battle for freedom. There was nothing more to say.

“I most certainly did not.” Rey had had enough of cryptic answers, enough of him. She stepped closer, challenging him even though she lacked a weapon and knew he was armed.

“You did. Because you know I have what you most want.” He circled in, close enough to strike. The smell of rain on scorched durasteel seared her nose and throat.

She fought the instinct to step out of range, choosing instead to stay close enough to fight if necessary or divest him of his weapon, if possible.

“You don’t know anything about what I want!” Even as she said the words, tendrils of doubt crept in.

“No?”

_you’re so lonely. so afraid. because even though you’ve left, you’re still alone_

_get out!_

_you’re not alone, rey. this is a chance,_ our _chance_

“Get _out!_ ” The words tore against her throat, ragged and harsh, as though saying them out loud would force him away.

His expression darkened. “Give me Skywalker’s saber and I’ll go. I know you have it. I can _feel_ it,” he hissed. “It belongs to _me_.”

Rage, sudden and hot, boiled her from inside.

“And yet, it called to _me._ ” Her defiant anger dampened the rising alarm that she was losing control of the situation.

“Are you sure about that?”

The Force churned around him, molten and untamed. He swayed to one side, his weight grounding into one leg as the other came up. In one smooth motion, he reached his hand to his belt and reversed direction, allowing him to snap his saber free of its mooring as he anchored himself on both legs. His weapon crackled to life, jagged and unstable. Red sparks etched the sharp planes of his face and danced in his eyes.

She should have felt trapped or panicked but she didn’t, her anger keeping the fear at bay. Instead, she held her ground and let him move closer until only a small space remained to keep them apart. Was this like Ahch-To? If she reached for him would her fingers touch the mark she’d left upon his face or simply slide through to emptiness like her vision? 

“You’ve forgotten so much,” he mused. His dark eyes danced across hers, digging deep. “Or maybe you haven’t. Maybe you’re still just hiding it all away.” A brutal smile split his lips, revealing teeth that appeared sharp and savage. “Have you really forgotten, Rey?”

He pressed the hilt of his saber into her open hand. When she closed her fingers around it, its power hummed up her arm with an unexpected, familiar strength. He let go and took a step back, leaving himself within lethal striking distance should she choose to attack. “Have you forgotten what it feels like? To let the darkness be your guide?”

 _… you’ll be the one to turn_  
_you’ll stand with me. rey..._

“Never! You'll never turn me!” Even as she said the words, something inside her gave way.

“It’s already started. It started long before either of us was old enough to understand. But Luke did. Luke understood. Too bad for all of us that his understanding came too late to change anything.”

He touched his fingertips to the jagged groove bisecting his cheek.

The stark shadows around them softened, became the pale blue winter of Starkiller Base, reminding her of the power she’d wielded against him.

Cold, bone-chilling and unforgiving, took her breath away.

Instead of burning sands, snow swirled around them, dampening everything.

_his saber flares out as she grinds it deep into the snow_

The only thing that had mattered was winning.

Wounded and weak, she had overpowered him with ease, carving her victory into his flesh so that every time he saw his reflection, he’d remember. Never be allowed to forget. And so that everyone who saw him without his mask, they would see it too, and wonder who had been powerful enough to give the mighty Kylo Ren that scar.

The collapsing planet had spared his life, the violence of its rupture separating them before she’d been able to deliver the final blow.

The same power surged through her now. She’d get no better opportunity to reclaim her vengeance than the one he offered so freely in this singular moment.

_strike me down… so quick… so easy_

“No! I won’t do it!” Around her, the illusion of Starkiller shattered, rendering her back to where she stood before him in the temple.

“It’s starting again,” he said. “I can _feel_ it in you, right now, even after all these years apart. You can't hide from it, from _us_ , and what we are together.” His fingers slipped away from his face. Had his hands always been bare?

“What did you see?” he asked, his voice close to a whisper. “When you touched me? What did you _really_ see?”

Rey couldn’t breathe.

Somehow he stole all the light, the darkness winding around him like a possessive lover.

“Tell me what you saw, Rey.”

_does he know her dreams, know what passes between them while she sleeps?_

Dangerous feelings rose to the surface, feelings she tried to deny, to lock away.

Her thoughts flashed across her mind, too quick to hide.

Images of him. Of _them_. Together.

Him beneath her, mouth open and breathless, his lips bruised from her [fevered kisses](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/amt-5.gif).

Had that happened? Had she done that to him while he lay unconscious on the throne room floor or was it a glimmer of things still to come?

Rey couldn’t be sure. She reeled herself in, emotions simmering.

“Say it,” he demanded. “You see what I do. Don’t you?”

He pushed his thoughts across her mind.

Images of her. Of _them_. Together.

He shows her so much more than the forbidden kisses she's stolen from him in her dreams. Black sheets at her back. Bare skin marred by dark bruises and pale scars. The [white heat](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/amt-6.jpg) between them.

Thoughts so like her own only so much clearer. Rey stepped into the distance he’d put between them, let him lean in until the space between them disappeared. His mouth touched hers, [insistent and warm](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/amt-7.jpg).

She let him thread his fingers in her hair and tilt her face up. Just because she closed her eyes and shivered when trailed his mouth along her throat to the sensitive place beneath her ear didn’t mean any of this was real.

His saber seemed to grow heavier in her hand, harder to keep hold of. Its fiery blade sagged in her grip. Her fingers tightened, bleaching her knuckles with the effort of keeping the end from striking the stone temple floor.

His heated words flared against her throat, their meaning burned away by the blaze his lips ignited in her belly. How was he so warm?

“I don’t understand,” she whispered.

His mouth moved again and she realised she couldn’t understand him because he wasn’t speaking. Instead, he kissed a trail of fire down her throat. Rey lost her hold on his lightsaber. It fell to the floor, spitting and wild, its plasma blade still activated. She barely noticed. Her hand curled around the back of his neck to pull his face to hers instead of trying to retrieve the weapon.

He straightened up, his mouth ghosting across hers for a brief moment. Rey pushed forward trying to strengthen their contact but he eased away, keeping just beyond range. Her fingers tightened in his hair. He held still at last, allowing her to come after him. Her lips parted in anticipation. He spoke before she could touch him.

“Give me the Skywalker saber, Rey, and I’ll give you everything your heart desires.”

His demand shattered the spell. Horrified to find herself about to kiss him in earnest, she pulled away. Her scalp burned where strands of hair ripped loose when his fingers jerked free. On instinct, she lashed out, one hand rising in his direction. Her fingers and thumb arced out as though she meant to choke him. Rey pushed hard through the Force.

He flew off his feet, rolling once before coming to a stop at the edge of a collecting pool.

“I already told you. I’m not giving you anything!” She spat the words as though it would somehow rid her of the feverish desire still roaring through her. No answers were worth losing herself to a pair of pretty eyes, to him.

He rose to his feet and called his saber to his waiting hand. With a practiced motion, he deactivated it and clipped it back on his belt. The sharp-edged smile was back.

“So many questions.” He closed half the distance between them. “And I can answer them all.”

“Liar,” she said though her words were quiet and lacked conviction.

He took slow steps until they stood close enough to touch.

“I’m the only one not hiding behind lies.” Anger clenched his hands into fists and left him trembling.

She flinched away, afraid he might lash out but he didn’t. He continued speaking instead.

“Do you want to know the whole story of the night Luke tried to kill me? About how I wasn’t the only one of his students he planned to murder that night? Did he tell you about that part?” His words rang with bitterness and hatred, though the feelings weren’t aimed at her.

“Have you ever heard the story of the littlest Jedi?” he asked, his eyes dark with the pain of betrayal and profound sadness. Feelings that Rey understood all too well.

A shadow, sharp-clawed and winged, rose along the far wall of the temple. Rey’s heart, already racing, kicked higher, beating against her ribcage as though desperate to escape her chest.

_this is something else_

As he spoke, the shadow grew and stretched. Its razor-tipped talons sliced into her mind, shearing and shredding until memories of a past best forgotten fountained out like blood from a mortal wound.

“Don’t, _please_ …” she begged, desperate to stop him from saying anything more.

He went on as if he hadn’t heard her.

“It’s the story of a boy named Ben and a girl named Kira. Do you know this story, Rey?”

 _a teenaged boy[held her tight](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/amt-8.jpg) in one arm._  
_‘don’t look, kira. just hold on. whatever you do, don’t let go, okay?’_  
_she clung to him, her cheek pressed to his. her little legs wrapped around his thin, bony hips, while her arms gripped his neck in a choking hold. in his free hand, his lightsaber ignited, its blue plasma beam humming with power. blood spattered their pale robes in vicious patterns that reeked of oncoming violence._  
_‘i’m scared, ben.’_  
_‘just don’t let go. i can’t protect us if you let go.’_

“ _Please_ , stop. Don’t do this.” Terror, thick and viscous, seared across her nerves as the shadowy claws found purchase deep in her mind, ripping and tearing at her defenses until something long buried broke free.

He ignored her pleas and continued on.

_A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I draw much of my inspiration from visual representations of what I write. The two often go hand-in-hand. Though I no longer create visually, I very much appreciate the craft and the investment it represents for the artist. With that in mind, I strive to give proper credit to the best of my ability. 
> 
> ~*~
> 
> Image 1 - (c) Michael Shainblum  
> Image 2 - (c) Jobell.deviantart.com  
> Image 3 - Unknown  
> Image 4 - (c) Elithien at elithien.com  
> Image 5 - Unknown (cosplay?)  
> Image 6 - Unknown. I can't decipher the autograph and would love to know who the artist is.


	7. Rise of the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When it was done, he finally released his hold on Kira. Blood roared in his ears leaving him lightheaded. The danger wasn't over yet.
> 
> “Run, Kira! Back to the temple. Before they find us here. I'll stay with him to make sure he's okay but you have to go back.” For Ben, all that mattered was keeping anyone from learning what Kira had just done, the _power_ she’d wielded. He knew all about that power, its strength and the fear that came with it. She needed someone to show her how to control it. She needed _him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last thread of the past before we head back to the future. 
> 
> To everyone who came for Hux, our illustrious General returns in the next chapter and we will be off to the races once more.

“Ben?”

“Go away, Kira.” He swiped angry hands across his eyes, trying to hide his tears. Usually he didn't mind the way she trailed along behind him, always full of curious questions, but today, just now, he didn’t need his little shadow.

The little girl in youngling robes, her hair pulled back into three knots, held her ground. Tiny hands clasped behind her back, she stood beside the spot he'd chosen against the temple’s outer wall. Back against stone, knees drawn up with ankles crossed, he coiled his arms across his body until his elbows rested on his knees and curled his face down into the hollow space between his arms.

“ _Please_ , Kira. I just want to be alone right now.” He stared down at the small tail of fabric caught in his lap, watched it blur and shimmer as he fought to keep from crying in front of her.

“The others, they're just mad because you're the best at everything. I want to be just like you when I’m a Jedi. I wish I was strong like you. I'd use the Force to make them cry, too.”

He raised his head, [looking up at her](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/ben-and-young-rey-by-jenny-dolfen.jpg) through damp lashes.

“Don't talk like that. You don't want to be anything like me.”

Why hadn't they told him the truth? Why had they let him be humiliated and left him to find out like this? Most of the students already avoided him, afraid of his much greater power and the volatile emotions that he often struggled to contain. Mixed together in just the right amounts, his outbursts had already isolated him from the rest of the students, their fear as palpable as the Force. Only Kira seemed unafraid. At least this finally explained why he was so different from everyone else. The new knowledge wasn’t enough to make up for what they’d done to him. A heavy wave of anger roiled through him, bringing fresh tears to his eyes. He _hated_ them for keeping secrets, secrets that made him even more of an outcast.

The little girl burst into tears. “Don't be sad, Ben.” To his surprise, she threw her tiny arms around his neck and sobbed into the shoulder of his tunic.

He froze, unsure of what to do then softened. Ben wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He rocked her gently, making small soothing sounds into her soft hair until her sobs faded into quiet hitches of breath. It reminded him of the way his mother used to comfort him each time he'd done something to upset the grownups.

“Hey, Darth Ben! You going to turn your little apprentice to the dark side?”

Violent anger boiled up inside him. Only his desire to keep himself from frightening Kira stopped him from lashing out. He was so focused on holding his emotions back that he didn't sense the little girl's own rising fury until it was too late.

Before he could stop her, Kira detached herself from him and spun toward the sneering, ugly face of his tormentor. Her arm came up, hand extended toward the other student.

“You leave him alone, Jaen!”

Ben watched her advance, eyes wide as small rocks flung themselves at the jeering boy who taunted him most. The boy yelped as the little stones found their mark, raining down on him until blood ran from his nose and a handful of other small cuts and bruises.

Jaen turned in an attempt to run away. The little rocks grew larger, more destructive. Bright blood ran down the side of the boy's neck and dripped from the tail of his braid. His little yelps turned to howls of panic.

Ben felt the sudden cresting rise of dark energy, a feeling he was no stranger to, only this wasn't coming from him. Kira, arm still out, her cute face twisted in a mask of rage, intensified her assault on his tormentor even as her little legs struggled to keep up with her fleeing target.

Jaen had pulled far enough away that she would never catch him. Instead, she ground to a halt. Ben bolted to his feet and ran after her. The darkness rose until he knew he wouldn't reach her in time. He felt her massive push ripple out. A second later, Jaen slammed face first into the dusty ground. The sickening snap of bone made Ben flinch. Too late, he scooped Kira up in his arms.

The wave of darkness crashed over them, churning and violent and punctuated with Jaen's screams of pain and terror. The Force collapsed back in on itself until it condensed around him and Kira. Ben felt her mind open, felt the sharp claws of her fear sink into him. His eyes widened in shock.

_kira, stop!_

Her attention snapped to him. Eyes wide and black with panic, she began to struggle and kick in his arms. Tears cut twins rivers through the dirt dusting her cheeks.

_i don't know how_

He tightened his hold. If he lost his grip, he feared she'd kill Jaen before he could stop her.

_kira, focus on me, push it my way. i can take it._

_ben?_

_come on, kira. focus! you have to! i'm strong enough to take it._

He felt her pull back from the edge and braced himself, unsure whether he would really be able to absorb her furious energy. She scrunched her eyes shut and he felt the violence draw in around her.

_do it now kira!_

For a brief moment, searing pain shorted out his nerves, rendering him blind and deaf. The feeling spiraled away in a turbulent storm, leaving behind a strange ringing resonance that held space only for him and her.

He held her tighter and knew what they had to do. As one, he moved them forward until they loomed above the wounded, screaming boy. White bone streaked with blood protruded from his upper thigh.

Together, Ben and Kira reached out, their combined power rendering Jaen unconscious. Ben sank to his knees and set Kira on her feet. He kept his arm around her afraid to let go.

_put your hand on his leg, like this_

Ben flattened his hand on Jaen's injured leg, just beside the open wound. Blood squelched beneath his palm, turning his stomach until he feared he'd be sick.

_I don't want to_

_you have to! i can't do it without you!_

She sobbed once then placed her tiny hand on the other side of Jaen's wound.

Ben felt the circuit complete. He seized hold of her raw power, letting it multiply until it gave him the strength to guide the broken bone back into place. Flesh and bone knitted itself together until the only sign that anything had happened was the ripped, bloody fabric of Jaen's leggings.

He used their ebbing power to wipe Jaen's mind clear of what had happened, replacing his memory with the false illusion that he had merely tripped and fallen. Ben had no idea if his deception would hold up under harsh scrutiny but he knew he had to try.

When it was done, he finally released his hold on Kira. Blood roared in his ears leaving him lightheaded. The danger wasn't over yet.

“Run, Kira! Back to the temple. Before they find us here. I'll stay with him to make sure he's okay but you have to go back.” For Ben, all that mattered was keeping anyone from learning what Kira had just done, the _power_ she’d wielded. He knew all about that power, its strength and the fear that came with it. She needed someone to show her how to control it. She needed _him_.

“What was that?” She was trying so hard to be brave.

It tore at his heart to think she might harbour the same darkness inside that had shadowed his life for as long as he could remember. He settled his hands on her thin shoulders and looked into her tear-filled eyes.

“It was me. I did it. I hurt him.” Ben tried to push the thoughts into her mind and met only fierce resistance.

“That's not true!”

“I can’t explain it right now. There’s no time! Right now you have to go back. Forget about it. It won't happen again. I won't let it. Do you trust me?”

She nodded sending more tears down her cheeks.

“You have to go, Kira.  _Please._ ” He was begging, the panic threatening to undo him. Ben pushed her away and let go. The hurt in her expression shredded his thin grasp on his composure. “Go!” he said before he could change his mind.

With a last, desperate look, the little girl spun on her heel and ran, leaving him shaking and sweating next to Jaen's prone form.

 

~☆~

 

Ben sat scrunched into the too-small chair, his lanky frame folded in on itself in a posture of defense.

“Ben, what you're saying doesn't make sense.”

His uncle paced in front of him. Frustration and confusion overlayed with a deep worry radiated off him.

“I can't help you, Ben, if you don't tell me the truth.”

Ben clenched his fingers into his palms until he felt the skin split. Luke was one to talk about truth.

“I already told you, Master. I was sitting outside the temple minding my own business when Jaen ran past. He must have tripped or something. I didn't see him fall. It happened too fast. I only heard him scream then I saw him lying in the dirt with cuts on his face and blood on his pants. He must have hit his head when he fell because he was knocked out. I went to help him then Mika and Zara showed up and helped me bring him back inside.”

His uncle stopped pacing and crossed his arms over his chest. He reached up with his mechanical hand and pinched the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb.

“Force help me, Ben. I don't know what to do.”

“You don't believe me.” Pent up emotions coloured his voice. “You _never_ believe me. Nobody does! It's not my fault!”

Before he could stop himself he shot out of his chair. He'd been taller than his uncle for almost two years but his lean frame had yet to fill out. Even so, Luke shrunk away, his hand instinctively going to his sheathed saber when Ben lunged at him.

For the first time, Ben understood that his uncle was frightened of him, truly frightened.

“Sit down, Benjamin.” His uncle stared up at him, meeting his challenge in spite of his fear. “Now!”

Ben sat hard, heart pounding, breath stuttering.

“I understand that today has been especially difficult for you.”

Ben didn't say anything. It was the first time his uncle had acknowledged the fact that one of the other students had revealed the identity of Ben's grandfather to him, and to the whole academy, with Ben practically the last to know. By now, everyone at the academy had seen the holos of Ransolm Casterfo informing the Galactic Republic that his mother, Senator Leia Organa, was, in fact, the daughter of Darth Vader, and in doing so, duly marked Ben as his grandson.

“I imagine you feel much the way I did when I learned that Vader was my father and that all the people I trusted had kept it from me. At first, I refused to believe it. I was angry and felt betrayed.” Luke clasped his hands behind his back and turned aside. “With time, I came to understand why they had made the choices they did and I forgave them.”

Ben kept quiet because to say anything would be to unleash his pain and humiliation, something he refused to do in front of his uncle.

Luke gave a quiet sigh full of resignation before turning to face him.

“Regardless of what happened today, there is no place for dishonesty here.”

Ben choked back a derisive laugh.

“You're to stay confined to your quarters until you're ready to speak the truth about Jaen. Is that understood?”

“But I am telling you the truth!”

His uncle ignored his reply. “Spend the time in meditation. Use it to find your way back, Ben. There will be no exceptions.”

“But, Master, the Trials—”

“You're not ready, Ben. There will be other opportunities. To try now would be to fail.”

“I am ready! I can pass the Trials. You know I can. I'm the best student here!”

“While you've certainly gained in skill, you lack the self-discipline and control needed to complete the Trials. My decision stands. Confinement to your quarters until you're ready to speak the truth about today.”

Ben had been here often enough to know that the Jedi Master wouldn't be swayed by any argument he tried to make. His expression clouded over and he stared at the floor, unable to meet his uncle's penetrating gaze.

“Meditate on the Code, Ben. Let it be your guide. For this and for dealing with what you've learned about our family today.”

The urge to escape left him vibrating with pent up energy. He fought hard to keep it in check.

“Yes, Master. Can I go now?”

“You can go. I'll have your dinner brought to you.”

“I'm not hungry.”

“Be that as it may, a Jedi always takes the opportunity to nourish his body so that his mind is strong.”

The moment his uncle waved him away Ben bolted.

He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as the hours ticked by. Dinner came but he left it untouched on his desk.

“Ben?” Her bright presence flared through the darkness.

He rose up on one elbow, watching as she slipped into his room.

“I miss my mommy.” She started to cry making him afraid someone would hear and discover her with him.

“Come here, Kira. It's okay.”

She ran over and climbed in next to him, her little body tucking against his.

As he had earlier, Ben rocked her and made soothing noises until she began to settle.

“I didn't mean to hurt him.” Her little voice held such huge anguish.

“I know you didn't. It was my fault. I lost control of my emotions when I should have helped you with yours instead.”

For a brief moment, the strange ringing resonance flared back to life between them.

_There is no emotion, there is only peace_

_… peace is a lie …_

She tensed against him as the whispers faded away.

“What’s happening, Ben?”

He opened his mouth to tell her another half truth. Before the words could leave his mouth, he snapped his lips shut and made a silent promise. No matter what, he would never lie to her.

“Ben?”

“It’s the dark side, Kira.”

She burrowed her face deeper into his chest.

“I'm scared.”

He pulled her closer, wrapping himself around her to keep her safe.

“Don't be afraid. I feel it, too. It will be okay. I promise.”

He stayed awake long after she'd fallen asleep. The bars of moonlight streaming through the clerestory windows of his hut lengthened and stretched as the night wore on. Even spent as he was, sleep eluded him, tearing down his defenses and leaving him open and vulnerable.

_… your master. he knows not what he possesses. but I do. i’ve always known. i’m the only one who truly understands …_

Beneath his clothes, Ben’s skin broke out in a cold sweat. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the voice. It forced its way in despite his efforts to keep it out.

_… he sees only another failure, my young friend, when today marks true triumph. soon the time will be upon you …_

Panic tightened his already constricted chest, making it impossible to draw a breath.

_time for what? what am i supposed to do?_

Ben waited in the silence for a reply that never came. At long last, exhaustion crept in, its cold waves overtaking him until he slipped beneath its icy surface. He tumbled and spun in a nightmarish turmoil of thoughts and feelings.

A hum, familiar and out of place, fished him from the dark sea of his dreams. The heat of Kira’s little body curled against his chest contrasted with the frigid air. On instinct, he tucked her closer, using his body to shield her. The hum changed, its pitch lowering with menace.

His eyes snapped open. Disoriented, it took him a moment to locate the source of the sound. Behind him, danger reared its ugly, plasma head. Ben snapped his head over his shoulder to find his uncle standing over the place he lay with Kira.

Before him, the Jedi Master’s face twisted in a snarl, lit by the green blade of his lightsaber. The Force boiled with danger. For a moment, regret shadowed Luke’s face, but Ben saw that his uncle had gone too far to turn back. He would not falter or hesitate; rather, he would bring his lightsaber down and cleave his nephew, and his nephew’s tiny charge, in two where they slept.

Desperate, Ben’s hand reached out, not toward Luke but beyond him, to the lightsaber he had constructed. Willing it into his hand, its blue blade activated, blocking the killing blow. The locked blades buzzed and sparked.

Kira’s tiny hand stretched between them toward the ceiling. A shimmering field of blue formed, slicing through the saber blades and deactivating both weapons. In an instant, the roof crashed in. Ben flinched away, stunned when the falling stones left him unharmed. The edges of the shield flared bright with each blocked impact.

He looked up to see his uncle struggling to protect himself from the falling debris. The blue field that protected him and Kira didn’t extend to Luke. Luke managed to remain standing until a massive chunk of timber smashed down on his shoulders. He quickly disappeared under the rising pile of rubble.

The destruction stopped leaving the night deathly quiet for a moment before Kira’s howls split the air.

He sat up, pulling her with him. Panic ripped across his nerves. They had to leave. _Now._ He had to get them out before the others arrived. She’d _killed_ —

_i had to, ben! master luke was going to hurt us. i felt it!_

He'd felt Luke's intention, too, and knew they would never be allowed the chance to explain so that the others would understand. The temple began to stir as people rose to investigate the disturbance.

“Kira, listen to me.”

“What?”

The others were coming, lightsabers already drawn.

“We're going to have to fight them.”

“We can't! There’s too many.”

“Not if we fight together. We did it with Jaen. And with Luke. Now we have to do it again. Can you do that?”

“You won’t leave me, will you? Promise you’ll stay with me?”

“Always, Kira. I’ll always stay with you.”

She reached toward him.

Ben scooped her up and held her tight in one arm.

“Don’t look, Kira. Just hold on. Whatever you do, don’t let go, okay?”

She clung to him, her cheek pressed to his. Her little legs wrapped around his thin, bony hips, while her arms gripped his neck in a choking hold. In his free hand, Ben’s lightsaber ignited, its blue plasma beam humming with power. Blood spattered their pale robes in vicious patterns that reeked of oncoming violence as the first of the others fell to his blade. 

“I’m scared, Ben.”

_just don’t let go. I can’t protect us if you let goooo…_

The memory stretched then ruptured with enough violence that it brought Rey crashing to her hands and knees on the cold temple floor. Her chest heaved, breath trying to keep up with her racing heart. She looked up to see Kylo Ren still standing close enough to touch, his fists clenching and unclenching.

“You remember!” Desperate hope quieted his voice and softened his posture. His hands opened and grew still.

Mind reeling with the force of the memory, she couldn’t seem to grasp onto her thoughts, much less speak aloud.

He stretched one bare, trembling hand toward her and took a small step nearer.

“Don't let go this time, Rey. Not when we are _so close_.”

_let the past die. kill it, if you have to_

With a final, shuddering breath, she reached out, knowing that this time, she would take his waiting hand in hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the spirit of giving credit where it is due, I borrowed heavily from Jason Fry's depiction of Ben waking to find Luke in his hut in the novelisation of _The Last Jedi._ Most of the words in those two paragraphs are his, modified as needed to fit into my narrative. I hope they are received in the manner in which I intend them.
> 
> Artwork © Jenny Dolfen, whose work is simply brilliant. Find her here: https://goldseven.wordpress.com/


	8. Fool's Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tracing the girl had apparently been the easy part. Using her as a means for locating Kylo Ren was proving much more difficult than anticipated.
> 
> “What is the point of all this?” Hux swept his arm around indicating the massive resources available to them. “If we can't catch one puny little desert rat?”
> 
> “Sir, she's faster and her movements appear random. We've not been able to predict with any accuracy where she plans to go next. It's been determined that she's searching for something.” Phasma paused long enough to underscore her next statement. “We have reason to believe she is also searching for the Supreme Leader.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hux, you sly dog, there you are! Everyone’s been waiting for you and it’s rude to be late to your own party.

“General, we believe we have new information relating to Pax Aurora. It’s just arrived.”

Hux took the data pad Lieutenant Mitaka held out, pleased to see that his hands barely shook. A miracle, really, considering he’s been living on stim tea and tranqs.

“The information is loading now, sir. You should have it momentarily.”

A cold trickle of sweat ran between Hux’s shoulder blades. He fought the urge to shimmy his shoulders against the itch and couldn’t decide whether he needed a drink, a messy blow job, or a nap. Maybe all three and maybe not in that order.

“Excellent. I’ll take it in my office. Inform Captain Canady that he has the conn until I return.”

“At once, sir.”

Hux swept past the smaller man, data pad tucked under his arm, and made for his private offices.

Once inside, he set the pad aside and pinched the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb.

Hux had had quite enough of this whole charade. Fucking Ren. Should have shot him when the chance had presented itself. Then he’d be Supreme Leader and none of this would be necessary.

“Resistance bitch!” he spat into the empty room. Twice she’d made an utter fool of Ren and still Ren couldn’t let her go.

Hux settled on pouring himself a drink even though Alpha shift wouldn’t end for another four hours, longer if the new information revealed Ren's current location. Hux found he didn’t care and somehow that worried him more than the missing Supreme Leader.

With Phasma’s help, they’d managed to keep secret the fact that Ren had been missing for more than two standard months. Their deceptions had held together but with each passing cycle, things grew more and more unstable.

More than anything, Hux wished to find Kylo Ren and destroy him once and for all. Destroy him and take his rightful place as Supreme Leader. Of the handful of elite officers who knew the true nature of their current assignment, only Phasma knew of the final solution he'd orchestrated.

Hux slammed the empty tumbler down. It vibrated but didn’t break. It pleased him that his hands shook not at all when he lifted the data pad in front of his face. He waited while the retinal scan flashed green across his features. It beeped then unlocked.

“Good afternoon, General Hux. How may I be of service today?”

“Search the most recent report relating to Pax Aurora, specifically any information containing the Supreme Leader’s current whereabouts.”

The screen went dark for a moment then lines and lines of text scrolled past, too fast for him to catch more than a word or two.

“We are unable to acquire that information, General Hux. Would you like to search again?”

Hux nearly screamed in frustration but held himself in check. Another line of sweat slid between his shoulder blades.

“Bloody scavenger scu—”

_Ren believed the girl was all we needed…_

Hux froze, his thoughts pulling together. He ignored the rest of the report for the moment and engaged his comms.

“Yes, General?”

“Report to my offices.” Hux worked to keep his voice steady and calm. "I’ve new information on our current project.”

“At once, sir.”

Hux fought with himself over whether to pour a second drink, forced himself to wait. They weren't celebrating just yet.

By the time Phasma arrived ten minutes later, Hux had read through the remainder of the short report. It contained nothing useful in light of his recent thoughts.

“General.” Hux couldn’t see her eyes behind the bright chrome mask but he heard the edge of excitement in her voice. “Has he been located, sir?”

“No.” To her credit, Phasma’s shoulders remained stiff and upright despite the disappointing news. “Phasma, we’re going about this all wrong.”

“Sir?”

“Scouring the galaxy is a fool's run. We're always too far behind to ever have a real chance of locating Ren. But, the girl…”

“Desert trash,” the Captain spat, her words filling the gap.

“Quite. Maker knows what he sees in her. It’s beside the point. It’s become quite obvious that Ren is using his sorcery to hide from us. But, the girl…” he said again.

Though Hux couldn’t see his Captain’s face, he knew the moment she connected the dots.

“There’s a small chance he’s using his powers to cloak her signature, as well, sir.”

“Yes, perhaps, although we both saw the state our illustrious Supreme Leader was in just before he disappeared.”

Even two months on, Hux was still overseeing repairs left behind by Ren's ridiculous show of rage at having been bested a second time, and in front of his entire command.

“Terrible sight to see,” she replied. “In any case, sir, I believe there are many options to work with.”

“I agree, Captain. Let’s start with the easiest. Begin monitoring Rebel communications for any mentions of the girl.”

“Excellent, sir. First report will come through at the end of Alpha shift.”

“Thank you, Phasma.”

As soon as he was alone, Hux poured himself a second, more generous helping of whiskey. He hadn’t felt this good in months.

 

~☆~

 

It hadn't taken Phasma long to track the scavenger. The Resistance airwaves were full of transmissions about the girl. Like Ren, she’d gone missing.

Hux took a rare moment to appreciate his Captain’s unwavering loyalty and her unmatched ability to grant Hux his every command. It helped ease some of his boiling frustration.

Tracing the girl had apparently been the easy part. Using her as a means for locating Kylo Ren was proving much more difficult than anticipated.

“What is the point of all this?” Hux swept his arm around indicating the massive resources available to them. “If we can't catch one puny desert rat?”

“Sir, she's faster and her movements appear random. We've not been able to predict with any accuracy where she plans to go next. It's been determined that she's searching for something.” Phasma paused long enough to underscore her next statement. “We have reason to believe she is also searching for the Supreme Leader.”

At this, Hux cut his stare to his Captain. “Is that so?”

“Yes, sir. The surveillance holos—”

“Holos? There are holos?” Hux checked the anger rising within him. “Why was I not informed of this?”

“Sir?”

“Why were the holos not included with the reports?”

“They are of dubious quality and are quite open to interpretation. I didn't feel they held enough value, sir.”

“Not enough value? And yet you just stated that they do have value.”

“Sir, yes. It’s the reason I bring the information forward. I've had all the relevant holos compiled into a single file. Everything is ready and waiting on your data pad.” Phasma paused, letting a moment of silence spool out. “Sir.”

Hux chose to ignore Phasma's indignation.

“Well done, Captain.”

“Always in service of you, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

Once in private, Hux paused. He took a deep breath then removed his gloves one by one. The need to watch the holos itched and burned beneath his skin. Hux resisted the urge to simply scratch. He needed to calm down or his efforts would prove futile.

He'd long ago given up on naps and blow jobs, going straight for the liquor instead now. Hux poured himself a generous helping of Corellia’s finest. It helped. Stars, did it help. The heat warmed him like nothing else in his life, soothing his nerves, until he felt calm enough to focus on the task at hand.

In a breach of his own protocol, Hux powered down all means of regular communication. Unless there was an emergency, he didn’t want to be interrupted. Though he was no longer connected to the holonet, his data pad maintained its encrypted connection to the larger screen embedded in the durasteel beside his desk.

The larger screen flickered as Hux transferred the feed. At first, there wasn’t anything to see but dancing flecks of blue and black static. He moved closer then paused, hands clasped behind his back as he stared into the pale snowy light. The static began to coalesce into solid shapes.

_there!_

She was instantly recognisable, her hair in three knots along the back of her head. The holo had no sound. Even so, Hux imagined he heard the squelching, mucky swamp sucking at her boots with each labored step she took. The image went dark then a different holo started. He watched each short clip, four in total. The screen went blank.

He waited but nothing more played. His data pad indicated that the clips were over. What was the meaning of this? The holos told him _nothing_. There wasn’t even a full minute of viewing time. Hux stabbed his finger on replay and watched again. Then again. And one more time.

His whole body vibrated with the pent up need to release weeks of fury. He forced himself to calm down and think. _Think, dammit!_ Though he wanted nothing more than to feel the satisfaction of smashing his data pad against his desktop, Hux sat it lightly in the middle and pulled up Phasma’s written report. His eyes danced over the words, skipping all but the headers the first time through.

FO02498120-1: DROMUND KAAS

FO02498120-2: LOTHAL

FO02498120-3: NAL HUTTA

FO02498120-4: MIMBAN

He went back to the beginning, reading for detail the second time. Each location came with basic planetary details including astrographical, physical, and societal information. There was a brief written summary of the time and circumstance of each surveillance. The report shed no new light on the purpose of any of her visits to those places or how she’d chosen her next location.

Hux kept reading.

_It has been determined that the subject was on Dantooine just prior to her arrival on Dromund Kaas. There are unconfirmed reports that the Rebels have begun occupying the abandoned base there. Probe droids have already been deployed to determine the validity of these claims. Future reports will contain additional information as it becomes available._

_END OF REPORT_

Hux pulled up the final page. Phasma had included a link to a detailed star map. When he clicked it, the feed switched from the large screen to a holoprojector. The galaxy rendered itself around him in a starburst of blues and greens. Bright ruby stars plotted out each of her locations, including her presumed starting point on Dantooine.

He took slow, deliberate steps, following her path. She’d started along the Outer Rim and had been working her way across it, steadily moving toward the opposite side of the galaxy. To Hux, it was easy to see that she was continuing to move in the same basic direction. She’d made a slight deviation when she’d jumped from Lothal to Nal Hutta.

His forehead wrinkled. What reason could she possibly have to risk entering Hutt territory? Even the First Order kept their distance. Hux looked back at his datapad, eyes scanning the written report. He noted the amount of time that had lapsed between jumps. Five days. He did a series of quick calculations. It wasn’t the longest she’d stayed on-planet but it also wasn’t the shortest. The timing told him nothing useful.

Hux closed the report and map, then rerouted the holos back to his big screen. He watched them on repeat for close to an hour until his eyes burned and the imagined sound of mud sucking at determined footsteps filled his head.

Realisation struck like lightning.

He turned away from the blue glare of the holos and grabbed his data pad. Without stopping the video feed, he pulled Phasma’s report back up.

Dromund Kaas. Primary terrain: Swamps, Jungles, Oceans

Lothal. Primary terrain: Marshes, Mountains, Prairies, Rock Formations

Nal Hutta. Primary terrain: Swamps

Mimban. Primary terrain: Swamps, Rainforests, Mud Fields

Hux looked back at the holo and recognised it as Nal Hutta. He watched the girl slog through thick, brackish water that came to her knees and muddied the bottom half of her tunic. Heavy mist curled in her wake. The feed changed, became Mimban. Another swamp, another determined fight through wet, miserable conditions.

Heart pounding, Hux called up Phasma’s star map, immersing himself in its blue glow. It took him five minutes key in his entire search algorithm. He pushed send and looked up, holding his breath.

The galaxy blinked out then began rendering itself around him, plotting the girl’s course in vivid detail. The only difference between his map and Phasma’s was that his held a final, sixth point. The one she hadn’t gone to yet. The one she planned to go to next.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Hux engaged his emergency comms.

“Yes, General?” Phasma’s immediate reply held a note of worry.

“Report to me immediately. I’ll tolerate no delays.”

“Understood, sir.”

His Captain arrived so quickly that Hux had only enough time to turn off the holoprojector. Her speed could only mean she’d stationed herself just outside his door the moment he broken regular comms. He gave another silent note of thanks for her.

Heart still racing, Hux met Phasma’s shiny, blank stare.

“Dagobah.” He let the single word break the silence.

“Sir?”

“That’s where she’s going next. Dagobah.”

Phasma shifted, the slight clacking of armour the only indication of her surprise. Though the question of how he knew this must have burned on the tip of her tongue, he knew she was far too disciplined to ask.

“Bring the girl to me.”

There was a pause before she spoke. “Given what I know of the planet, it’s unlikely to be a clean extraction, sir.”

“I want her caught, alive and unharmed.”

“Sir, it will take some time to prepare for a successful extraction. The planet’s terrain will factor heavily into our strategy and I’ll need time to reconnoiter prior to deploying troops. That will take the longest, five days, a week at most.”

The girl had already been on Mimban for two days. If her pattern held, she’d stay at least one more cycle, maybe as many as four.

“We’ve no time for that. You have three days.”

“Sir, if I may—”

“Three days, Phasma. Alive and unharmed. Use any means necessary.”

“Yes, General.”

“I’ll expect reports at the end of every shift. Be sure to include all holos of the girl.”

“Of course, sir.”

After Phasma left, Hux realised he’d left her report’s video feed running on the large screen. Unexpected heat pinked his cheeks and coloured the small band of skin above his tight collar. He clenched his fists and jabbed at the controls, hitting pause instead of stop.

Hux looked up to find the holo frozen on [a close-up of the girl](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/amt8rey-1.jpg), her face turned directly into the camera.

_Her eyes catch him first. They bore into him, pinning him in place. He moves closer. The heat of her determination scorches across his skin like burning desert suns.[Hux can’t stop looking](https://reynimansolo.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/amt8hux.jpg) at her eyes, her mouth, the strength in her shoulders. A wisp of hair trails across one cheek. He reaches out…_

His fingertips grazed the image of her lips, the touch sending a dark ripple across the screen. He snatched his hand away as though burned.

The woman stared back at him, undeterred.

Hux poked the bottom corner of the screen, watching as tongues of darkness licked across her image.

The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place. A smile as rare as sunlight on his skin turned up the corners of his mouth.

“Rey.” Hux tasted her name for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Hux with all my black heart. He is so psychotically diabolical, it hurts.
> 
> Images (c) Disney LFL


	9. Razor's Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A revelation has Hux rethinking his plans. There is more than one way to break a person and Hux is intimately acquainted with them all. His strategy must now change.
> 
> ~☆~
> 
> When she turns to stand before him, Hux draws an involuntary breath. It's an inexcusable breach of his tightly held self-discipline.
> 
> It’s her hair that strikes him most. She's left it loose. The dark, drying locks frame her face and curl against her bare shoulders. 
> 
> She’s traded the towel for one of his regulation singlets and a pair of his sleeping pants.
> 
> “Well?” she asks. Still that edge of menace but also the bright flare of something new. Hunger, primal and true. It's thrilling to witness.
> 
> Instead of answering, Hux takes his time appraising her. Though he’s small, she’s smaller. His clothes hang on her. To compensate, she’s tied the shirt’s excess material into a knot along the bottom hem and rolled the waistband of the pants over until the legs are as short as they’ll go. His gaze lingers on a pale band of skin peeking out where the knotted shirt pulls the fabric up. He darts his eyes back to hers.
> 
> “Come here,” he says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Hux. What are you doing, my love? 
> 
> As always, I underestimate you.
> 
>   _~Rey_

She sits between his knees, eyes sparking with something between menace and desire then gets up. Without another word, she marches past him. He resists the urge to turn and watch as her bare footsteps recede.

He hears her moving, recognises the clack of clothes hangers. A bolt of electricity pierces his stomach. She’s going through his closet. His fists clench as he wills himself to remain still. The whisper of fabric over skin replaces the clacking. It’s almost too much. He fights to keep his breathing steady and waits.

Her footsteps pad his way. His heart pounds in time with her steps, growing louder as she approaches.

When she turns to stand before him, Hux draws an involuntary breath. It's an inexcusable breach of his tightly held self-discipline.

It’s her hair that strikes him most. She's left it loose. The dark, drying locks frame her face and curl against her bare shoulders.

She’s traded the towel for one of his regulation singlets and a pair of his sleeping pants.

“Well?” she asks. Still that edge of menace but also the bright flare of something new. Hunger, primal and true. It's thrilling to witness.

Instead of answering, Hux takes his time appraising her. Though he’s small, she’s smaller. His clothes hang on her. To compensate, she’s tied the shirt’s excess material into a knot along the bottom hem and rolled the waistband of the pants over until the legs are as short as they’ll go. His gaze lingers on a pale band of skin peeking out where the knotted shirt pulls the fabric up. He darts his eyes back to hers.

“Come here,” he says.

To his surprise, she steps closer, doesn’t stop until she's sliding against him.

She’s warm in his lap, her arms around his neck, knees straddling his hips. Hux can't stop the shiver that rolls through him when her lips press against the blaster wound he took to the throat on Dagobah.

“What do you want?” Her words burn against his sensitive, healing skin.

What does he want? He wants to peel his hands free of where they dig into the arms of his chair, wants to slide them beneath her shirt, to feel her warmth. He wants to pull her closer and feel the softness of her mouth against his. He wants to undress her and bury his aching cock deep within her again and again until she’s his. Hux does none of these things.

“Have dinner with me,” he says instead.

She sits back, eyes full of suspicion and the slightest tinge of hope.

Hux waits, unmoving and undeterred.

“Have dinner with me,” he says again.

It's not a question and she doesn't answer, not with words. She shifts against him then slides away.

Hux savours the faint blush that's risen in her cheeks and across her shoulders.

“Enough talk,” she says, as though they've been in the middle of a rousing conversation instead of the kisses and half-touches of moments ago. “Either feed me or I'll consider you a man capable of only lies and deceit.”

Hux chuckles. That he's a liar and a deceiver is a given, as predictable as First Order doctrine. That she thinks he's alone in this amuses him. He's under no illusions. She'll betray him the moment an opportunity arises.

He rises from his seat and extends his upper arm to her.

“Come with me.”

She curls her hand around his bicep with the fearlessness he's come to admire in her.

Hux is a man of few words. His offering will speak for itself. They're silent as he guides her to his dining area.

“Oh.”

Hux savours her small intake of breath as the table comes into view. There's more food than they could possibly eat in a single sitting. Without knowing her preferences, he’s made sure to include as much variety as possible. Not easy on a star destroyer but Hux is nothing if he isn't resourceful.

Before he can pull her chair out to seat her, she rushes to the table, hands grabbing, mouth jammed full. Her lack of manners takes him by surprise though it really shouldn't, not from one whose entire existence has balanced on the razor's edge of starvation for so long.

Hux has known his share of atrocities. Hunger, true hunger, was never one. He'd been barely five when his father and Rae Sloane had taken him to Jakku. Hux has never forgotten the blistering sun that instantly pinked his delicate skin nor the unrelenting sands that coated everything in its irritating, inescapable grit. It was, and remains, a place ill suited to sustaining human life. And yet, the woman in front of him has not only survived, she has learned to thrive.

_powerful, indeed_

Hux moves around the table until he sits across from her. The orderly part of him is nauseated by the desperate way she crams mouthful after mouthful between her lips, stopping only to suck food from her fingers or lick the last bits of some favoured dish from its empty platter. The other part watches enraptured as she takes what she wants, long after her belly must be aching and full.

At last, she sinks to the floor. He can't see her beneath the edge of the table but he can hear her sucking on her fingers. She groans then belches loud enough to be considered rude in most systems.

Hux peers under the table to find her laying on her back, fingers laced together just above her stomach. Satiated and drowsy, her eyes flutter and Hux knows sleep will find her soon.

He pushes out of his chair. When he kneels beside her, her eyes flit to his, soft and unfocused. Hux wants to lean down, brush the last few crumbs from her lips before kissing her. He settles instead for gathering her up and carrying her to his bedroom. She's light but solid in his arms.

“Is this where you make me pay for the food?” she asks. Resignation clouds her placid expression.

Heat rises in his cheeks. She's not wrong. It had certainly been his original plan to take her into his bed tonight and lay his claim to her whether she was willing or not. But now? As she lays against his dark cyrene sheets, Hux hesitates. She's beautiful this way, her swollen middle widening the gap between her borrowed shirt and pants.

Her breath hisses when he runs a light hand over the tight, rounded drum of her distended belly. For a moment, he imagines she's full with child, _his_ child, instead of an over large meal. His thoughts race along this new path, imagining that she's here of her own free will, that no collar encircles her throat. He imagines that the soft way she's looking at him is love instead of the last hazy remnants of sweet Savorium smoke.

Something new blooms to life in his mind, an idea so pure and true that Hux is nearly blinded by its brilliant perfection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! A short chapter and hopefully worth the wait. 
> 
> If you're still enjoying the story, I'd love to know.


	10. Return to Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s up, eyes already on her. They circle each other in the small space, nothing between them but their harsh, ragged breathing. Hux considers his options. All of them are appealing, especially the one where he shows her what it means to go up against a worthy opponent and lose. The temptation to take her in a bare-handed fight then take her once more in his bed is almost too much.
> 
> “We’ll finish this when I return from my shift,” he says.
> 
> “No. Now. We finish this now,” Rey answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As we drift ever closer, may the odds be ever in our favour.

“General Hux. A pleasure to have you join us for Gamma shift, sir.”

Hux ignores the officer’s surprised, insincere acknowledgment.

“Status report, Lieutenant Rodinon,” he says by way of greeting.

“Sir, we're 12 parsecs from Yag'Dhul. Estimated time to Dantooine is seven days. We've encountered no resistance thus far but expect that to change as we pass through the Core Worlds. All troops are on alert.”

“Excellent. Return to duty.”

“At once, sir.”

Hux glides along the catwalk above his staff. He ignores the furtive, questioning glances they give him as he approaches the massive transparisteel viewport. Snoke is as dead as Starkiller and the new Supreme Leader has yet to make an appearance.

Hux stands proud before the galaxy but no one can see him through the blue-white glare of hyperspace except the fearful, distrusting crew at his back. Their stares prick between his shoulder blades like daggers. Time is running out.

The distraction he’d hoped for by coming here is non-existent. He's alone with his thoughts in the middle of the busy bridge. Seven days. It seems both too long and too short for all that must happen. There are things he should be doing but he can't get her out of his mind.

_am I clean enough? to be welcome in your bed?_

The phantom sound of her voice shatters his hard-won focus. _No!_ That isn't what she'd said. His mind is beginning to play tricks on him. He resists the urge to shake his head, knows it won't do anything to clear his straying thoughts. Restless and agitated, Hux turns to leave. Not a single pair of eyes look up. The bridge doors close behind him, leaving him alone in the corridor. He draws a shaky breath edged with panic.

Hux retreats to the only sanctuary he has left. When he’s alone inside his office with the locks engaged, only then does he let his control slip. He sinks to the floor, back scraping down the wall. His palms press against his eyes, trying to relieve the burn of exhausted confusion and fading stims. The scent of her clings to the overheated fabric of his uniform.

She springs to life behind his closed eyes, bright and beautiful. Hux lets out a snarl and drags himself to his feet. He has an attack to plan, damage control to manage, an unfamiliar starship to command. There’s no time to dwell on matters of the flesh. If he’s to claim his rightful place as Supreme Leader, Ren and the Resistance must be wiped from the face of the galaxy once and for all. Everything else can wait.

Seven days. He hopes it’s enough.

Hux throws himself into his work. The next three hours he spends reading reports and drawing up orders. It centres him, slows his racing heart. The probe droids have confirmed there is renewed activity at the old Rebel base on Dantooine. It can only be Organa and her pitiful little band.

That he will crush them is indisputable. Other than Phasma, it's obvious his army does not share his optimism. They follow him now on the sheer strength of his prior achievements alone. That hold is tenuous, at best. It won't last forever.

Even so, there is much in his favour. He has four key members of their alliance under his control. The traitor and the pilot are expendable and won't live to see the end of the week. The remaining two are more than enough to assure his final ascent to the throne.

To everyone else, Ren’s whereabouts are a mystery, one that Hux has crafted with great care. To some, Ren is dead. To others, he has ascended to legend far beyond even Snoke's, heard but never seen, something spoken of in awed whispers for fear of conjuring his merciless wrath. Kylo Ren is neither of these things but rather something in between.

Hux’s thoughts turn to his final advantage, to her.

_please, armitage, I'm so hungry_

_Oh_ , the possibilities. They bloom like wildflowers in the desert after an unseasonal rain.

Others have come before him. Bane. Plagueis. Sidious. Snoke.

All have made the same, fatal mistake.

Hux will do no such thing.

_am i clean enough? to be welcome in your bed?_

_rey sits across his lap, knees straddling his hips. her fingers curl into his. he lays beneath her, stripped bare. golden eyes ringed in red bore into his and hux has never wanted anything more than he wants her in this moment._

_she sinks onto his cock, as slow and hot as a setting desert sun, her only purpose to burn away the endless cold of space that forever clings to him._

_…just you…_

Hux jerks awake, disoriented and frightfully aroused. It takes him precious moments to recover. He drags a hand down his face, the rough scratch of his beard reminding him he'll need to clean up before his shift begins.

This insanity has gone on long enough. He presses the pad of his thumb across the biolock on his desk drawer. It scans red then green before the locks disengage with a sharp click. What he really needs is sleep, eight hours at least, but he's due for Alpha shift in less than two. It isn't worth trying, he'll only end up in worse shape.

He slides the drawer open, still deciding how many stims to take when he stops dead, all thoughts of chemical alertness burned away.

The broken halves of her lightsaber glint from the shadows within the drawer. His nose wrinkles with distaste. Hux has only disdain for the Jedi and their ancient, outdated weaponry.

He stares it at, thinking he should feel something, some unexpected power radiating from it. There's nothing even when he reaches with both hands to gather the pieces.

He sets them on his desk, still wary as though they'll somehow ignite and pierce his heart, not once but twice.

The sheared halves of the crystal stare out, milky white like cataracts and just as blind. The tortured metal housing flares back like the ragged petals of a Tarisian rose.

Emboldened by the lack of response from the weapon, he begins dismantling it, enjoying the way it comes apart in his deft hands. In spite of himself, he's intrigued by the technology. The crystal and metal housing are beyond salvation. The remainder of the parts appear serviceable though he has no way to check. Hux debates whether to reassemble the unit, decides he doesn't have time if he's going to be ready for start of shift. He takes two stims instead.

The disassembled lightsaber goes into a small box and back into his locked drawer.

She's still asleep when he returns to his quarters to dress for Alpha shift. His skin burns as he stands beneath the fresher's icy spray. The stims kick in and Hux feels his mind reengage. His thoughts gain traction, propelling him toward the inevitable showdown with Organa. Before he destroys her and what's left of her Resistance, she must be forced to acknowledge him as Supreme Leader before the entire galaxy.

While he's dressing, Hux notices the missing monomolecular blade. He's surprised, not that Rey's taken it, but that he didn't realise sooner. For now, he’ll let her keep it knowing the odds of her using it against him are high. Very high.

Until he knows for sure, it's logical she'll have hidden it very near the bed. She'll sink it between his ribs just as surely as he plans to sink himself into her as yet unwilling flesh.

He's dressed and ready for start of shift except for his gloves and the final buttons on his collar. The edges of his uniform hang open, revealing the tight, pink skin along his throat where she shot him on Dagobah. She's tangled in his bed sheets. One slim calf peeks from beneath the covers. Hux perches on the edge of his bed, careful not to wake her.

He reaches a hand out, thinking only of how soft the fine hair on her leg will be against his palm. Before he can touch, Hux finds himself falling face down toward the foot of his bed, arm twisted behind his back. His shoulder joint screams in pain. Her weight presses into the back of his thighs.

Hux uses the slight bounce of the mattress to shove his body up and back, rolling into the twist she holds him in. The pressure in his shoulder eases. Hux pins her to his bed with his weight but he's at a disadvantage. With his back pressed against her chest, he can't get any leverage.

Her legs clamp over the top of his, heels digging in to his inner thighs.

With his legs locked up, he snaps up in a half crunch, ready for her next move. When she curls forward, arms reaching around from behind in an effort to cage him, Hux locks his fingers around her wrists and launches forward, pulling on her arms as he goes.

He lets their momentum carry him until he’s canting toward the floor with her tight to his back. His shoulder hits first, followed by her back. Hux crashes into something hard with a thin edge. The impact lights up the nerves from his calf to his ass. Glass shatters as he loses his grip on her.

He’s up, eyes already on her. They circle each other in the small space, nothing between them but their harsh, ragged breathing. Hux considers his options. All of them are appealing, especially the one where he shows her what it means to go up against a worthy opponent and lose. The temptation to take her in a bare-handed fight then take her once more in his bed is almost too much.

“We’ll finish this when I return from my shift,” he says.

“No. Now. We finish this now,” Rey answers.

He has to hand it to her. She hasn’t yet given away the location of her stolen blade.

“I’m afraid you’re not in a position to negotiate.” Hux moves toward the door. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He says it even as he moves to send a jolt of electricity to her collar if she doesn’t stand down.

After a tense moment, she relaxes her stance then sits cross-legged in the middle of his bed. Her hands rest in her lap.

“I’ll have breakfast brought to you,” he says, then adds, “Is there anything you want in particular?”

Her eyes flash for a moment before she turns her face away without answering.

Hux crosses the distance between them and grips her chin in his fingers, forcing her to look at him. “We’re not done here.”

Her hands clamp over his wrist with surprising strength but he holds tight.

“I hope you understand what you are doing,” she hisses.

Before she can finish her last word, Hux has her on her back. He shifts until he's straddling her legs. His knees pin her arms against the bed, leaving his hands free.

Her chest heaves between his thighs. Otherwise, she's still as she watches him draw his gloves on.

“Bastard,” she spits.

Hux smiles. If she only knew.

“Now, now. Is that any way to speak to your lover?” he asks.

She snarls and twists beneath him.

“We're not lovers. Not now. Not ever.”

Hux digs her arms from beneath his knees and pins her hands beside her shoulders. When he's sure of his grip, Hux slides down until he's lying atop her.

She struggles against him. When she goes still, he puts his lips to her ear.

“Wait for me until I come back,” he whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reads, the kudos, and the comments.
> 
> Please consider supporting the written and visual arts by participating in the fundraising drive for OTW. Without their hard work and dedication, none of this would be possible.


	11. Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey catches sight of herself. Reflections don’t exist on Jakku. She takes careful steps until she's standing within arm’s length of the mirror. It’s only the third time she’s seen her own image and Rey understands why mirrors are so rare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always love a different perspective, don’t you?

She hears him return, shudders beneath the sheets. He hasn't forced himself fully upon her yet but she's no fool. Rey doesn't need to read his thoughts to know where this is headed. She’s had her share of experience with powerful men who think they can take whatever they want. Hux is no different. It’s only a matter of time.

Rey feigns sleep, listens as he takes a turn in the fresher then dresses. Though he gives no indication he’s noticed the missing blade, Rey assumes he knows she’s armed. It would be unwise to assume otherwise.

She keeps her breathing deep and her body calm even when she feels him sit beside her. The slow caution in his movements says so much. She takes another deep breath against the coiling energy gathering inside her.

Rey feels the weight of his intent. She waits until he shifts toward her then springs. Without being able to see his exact position, her grab is awkward, landing too near his elbow. She sinks her fingers into the wiry meat of his forearm and throws her weight into him. He grunts in surprise, giving way beneath her until they’re falling. Rey wrenches his arm behind his back with everything she has.

They crash against the bed. Just as quick, he pushes back. Her grip slackens as he rolls them until he lands atop her, his back to her chest. Her breath huffs from her lungs as she's sandwiched between him and the mattress.

She curls her legs over the top of his and digs her heels into his thighs to keep him from getting free. The top half of him crunches up off her chest giving her a brief moment to suck in a breath. Rey throws her arms out intending to cage him in or at least cling to him if he manages to gain his footing.

His fingers grip like shackles around her wrists. Rey yelps in surprise but recovers quick enough to know what's coming. She moves with him, curling into him in anticipation of the impending crash. The room spins as she goes over his shoulder. He hits the floor first absorbing most of the impact. She still hits hard enough to knock the wind out. Glass shatters as he loses his grip.

Rey scrambles to her feet, trying to catch her breath before the fighting starts. They circle each other in the small space, nothing between them but their harsh, ragged breaths. A shard of glass bites into the ball of her foot. She's in serious trouble. Not only has she underestimated him, her bare feet put her at an extreme disadvantage.

The way he's looking at her, as if he's about to eat her alive, sends another wave of adrenaline pumping through her system. It dulls the pain, helps her focus. She refuses go down without a fight, injured or not. He'll have to kill her or be killed. She’ll accept nothing less.

“We’ll finish this when I return from my shift,” he says at last.

It takes a moment to comprehend what he's said. Hope sparks only to be replaced by fury. He's backing down that fucking coward! Rey wants to pummel him into the ground on sheer principle alone even though her odds of taking him haven't changed.

“No. Now. We finish this now,” Rey answers, all reason burned away by hatred and misplaced courage.

“I’m afraid you’re not in a position to negotiate,” he says.

She tracks him as he moves toward the door.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says. A lie, for sure.

He moves just out of range and lets his guard down long enough to tap the comlink on his wrist twice. The collar around her neck hums to life, unpleasant but not painful, not yet. The tingling buzz transmits his message loud and clear.

After a tense moment, Rey makes the only choice she has. She relaxes her stance then retreats to sit cross-legged in the middle of his bed, taking care to hide her injured foot in the puddle of sheets. Her hands rest in her lap.

“I’ll have breakfast brought to you,” he says, then adds, “Is there anything you want in particular?”

Her traitorous mouth waters at the mention of food. Beignets. She tasted her first one on Nal-Hutta. He can get them because she ate her second and third at his table. Rey turns her face away hoping he'll leave as promised if she doesn't answer. She'd rather starve than owe him for food.

She's still thinking about beignets when he's up in her space. His fingers grip her chin and force her to look at him.

“We’re not done here,” he says, eyes bright with challenge.

Fury races through her, heating her skin. She clamps her hands over his wrist but he holds tight. It's herself she's furious with for letting her stomach make her decisions. She has to stay alive, has to keep Finn and Poe alive long enough for the Resistance to arrive. They'll come, for Finn and Poe, if not for her. There will soon be hell to pay.

“I hope you understand what you are doing,” she hisses.

Before she can finish her last word, Hux has her on her back. He shifts until he's straddling her legs. His knees pin her arms against the bed, leaving his hands free.

Her chest heaves between his clamped thighs as she tries to slow her racing heart. Rey goes still to conserve energy for what she’s sure is coming next.

Hux retrieves his gloves from somewhere. How he still has them with him after their altercation is beyond her. Revulsion turns her stomach. He's going to wear his gloves while he fucks her, unwilling, it seems, to touch her with his bare hands while he does it.

“Bastard,” she spits.

He smiles with the sharp savagery of a loth-wolf.

“Now, now. Is that any way to speak to your lover?” he asks.

Rage burns the back of her throat. She snarls and twists beneath him, testing her chances.

“We're not lovers. Not now. Not ever.”

Hux digs her arms from beneath his knees and pins her hands beside her shoulders. When she doesn't fight him, he slides down, legs twining with hers to hold her in place. More and more of him touches until his entire weight settles on her.

He's much heavier than expected for how slight he is. It speaks to the tightly held strength he hides beneath his uniform. Claustrophobia threatens to overwhelm her. She struggles against him until she overcomes the panic and goes still.

He buries his face in her hair until his mouth finds her ear.

“Wait for me until I come back,” he whispers.

“As if I have a choice.”

“There are always choices, Rey.”

There's no relief in the fact that he says he's leaving. Even if he does leave now, he'll return at some point and when he does, the terrible wait will be over.

Rey turns her head away trying to put distance between them. It's a mistake. His mouth moves from her ear, gliding down the edge of her jaw. He nips at the skin above her collar before jumping his mouth to the bottom edge. If he feels the energy radiating from the collar, he doesn’t show it. The soft touch of his mouth turns to slow kisses pressed along her bare shoulder.

She shivers beneath him, hoping if she doesn’t resist he'll be quick about it.

The leather of his gloves creaks as he grips tighter. He moves down, mouths her nipple through the ribbed fabric of her shirt. It hardens against his lips which only serves to make it more sensitive.

The memory of Ezra blazes to life in her mind. It isn't right that this man's mouth makes her feel the same piercing need as Ezra's, not when one touch is born of love, the other of pure, black hatred. She squeezes her eyes shut and tries to clear her mind.

It's impossible with him assaulting her nipples. Rey fights to remain still. Her lack of reaction seems to spur him on rather than cool him off. When his teeth graze one tight peak through the damp fabric, Rey's body finally betrays her. She arches into him with a strangled moan.

“Mmm, there it is,” Hux murmurs. He presses his cheek to the space between her breasts. “I have so much to show you. Wait for me.”

Without warning, he pushes away from her until he’s on his feet.

Rey yelps when the collar sends a brief jolt through her. He’s gone before she can sit up. She lays in his bed, trying to regain her senses.

The collar's energy fades the longer he's gone. She wishes the same were true for the burn he’s ignited between her thighs. Rey squeezes her legs together desperate to ease the pressure and rolls onto her side. She groans into the pillow and all she can smell is him. It’s a mixture of standard issue soap and something entirely him.

Her injured foot finally gets her moving.

Rey sits up and twists her foot until she can see the bottom. Glass glints from her flesh. Her breath hisses as she pulls the shard free. Fresh blood flows, soaking into the already ruined sheets. Rey limps to the fresher leaving a trail of bloody prints on the polished floor.

The bacta patch stings but the wound is better than before. At least she can stand and put weight on her foot again. Rey catches sight of herself. Reflections don’t exist on Jakku. She takes careful steps until she’s standing within arm’s length of the mirror. It’s only the third time she’s seen her own image and Rey understands why mirrors are so rare.

She tears her eyes away, unable to look any longer. Rey doesn’t need the mirror to see that even though she’s already used the fresher once, she’s far from clean. Dark crescents line the edges of her ragged fingernails and darken the creases in her skin. Bits of food and a large, unidentifiable stain soil her shirt. His mouth has left two damp circles that makes the fabric cling to her skin.

She’s filthy. No wonder he doesn’t want to touch her with his bare hands. Rey strips off her clothing while the fresher warms. The flowering vines welcome her with a riot of colourful blooms. The sweet scent they give off is soothing beyond measure.

The water stays warm a long time, long enough that the skin she can see is pink and free of grime. She figures out how to give her hair a thorough scrubbing with minimal zaps from the collar. There's time to think.

Everything is chaos, a riot inside her head that spins so fast she can’t seem to catch hold of any line of thought. The water shuts off breaking her concentration. It’s enough to get her moving again.

She dries off before heading to his closet, leaving her towel in a wet heap. She knows where he keeps his undershirts and sleep clothes making it quick to dress. She moves to close the closet door. Her hand pauses on the edge. She’s already gone through his things once but it was cursory, at best.

Rey slides the door open as far as it goes. His uniforms hang in precise rows. On the shelf above, two extra caps. Below in individual cubbies, pairs of boots and shoes, polished so bright she can see her reflection in them. More cubbies line one side where he keeps his underclothes. She found the blade hidden in the back of one of them.

Rey goes through his things with practiced ease. Except for the blade she's already found, there’s nothing useful. She leaves everything in precise order. It’s disappointing but there’s the rest of his quarters to examine. The closet door slides shut.

Rey turns to leave and stops. Two things happen at once. She catches her reflection in the mirror and there, right next to her, hangs the dress. Her anger returns with a vengeance. In the mirror, Rey’s face contorts in a scream. The hanger bends with a squeal of metal before the dress comes free in her hands. She rips and tears and shreds until the garment is little more than rags.

She looks up to find herself staring back. In her fury, she’s sunk to the floor, eyes and face on fire, surrounded by scraps.

“Never!” she promises herself. “Not ever.”

Torn between going through the rest of his quarters and planning her escape, she feels each moment as it slips away. The idea of keeping time isn't new to Rey. There are a thousand, thousand marks etched into rusted durasteel by her own hand to attest to that. What is new is the organisation of time into measured cycles.

There are three, she’s sure of it even if she can’t say how she knows. What she hasn’t quite figured out is how to gauge the duration between cycles, and, more importantly, when they're about to change. The uncertainty of how soon he’ll return makes her tense and jumpy.

She gives up on the idea of going through his room in favour of working on escape. Rey stands to face herself in the mirror. Ragged bits of black silk drift from her lap, fluttering to the floor like so much ash.

Without meeting her own eyes, she steps closer until the two Reys almost touch in the smooth silver surface. She lifts her chin and rolls her head from side to side, eyes on the collar. Her fingers run across the slick durasteel circling her throat. Technology hasn’t changed much since the fall of the Empire. If Rey knows anything, she knows Galactic tech. This isn’t it. This is something new, something she hasn’t encountered before.

She’s examining it from an odd angle when the collar hums to life. Her fingers tighten around it as her heart trip-hammers.

_he’s coming_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reads, the kudos, and the comments!


	12. On Your Own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux moves fast, sweeping her legs from beneath her.
> 
> She sits hard, pain flashing across her face. Rey scrabbles away like a spider droid, stopping when her back hits the edge of his bed.
> 
> He’s there to meet her when she gains her feet. When her palms hit his chest, he grabs her wrists and pulls her close.
> 
> “Stop fighting,” he says, even though he enjoys the slide of her body against his while she struggles.
> 
> When she keeps resisting, he bends her hands behind her back, pinning them against her low back. Rey bows into him with a hiss of pain. His cock betrays his thoughts, desperate and traitorous between them.
> 
> He pulls her tighter and presses his cheek to hers, holding her in place. Her warm clean scent fills his head. His mouth finds the hollow beneath her ear. “Stop fighting immediately or your friends die while you watch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not long now, my lovelies 💋

Hux stays away for over a day and a half. He spends three shifts on command, one on sleep, and one on preparation.

He storms into his quarters to find her sitting cross-legged in the middle of his bedchamber, eyes closed, hands light on her knees. She’s been sitting like this, unmoving, for hours. He knows because he’s spent a good portion of those same hours watching her on the encrypted holo feed he streams from his rooms while he’s away from her.

A riot of emotions rips across him. Admiration. Fury. Vulnerability. Watching her go through his things on the flickering screen has left him seething with desire.

From her place on the floor, her eyes crack open then drift shut. She says nothing by way of acknowledgement.

Behind him, his favoured servant droid stows items in his closet then retreats.

Hux strides forward, boot heels clacking on cold durasteel until he towers above her. He stands, looking down at the crown of her head, bare hands clasped at the small of his back.

She hasn’t moved, her face placid and calm.

“Get up,” he says.

A heartbeat passes, then nine more. Neither move.

“And, if I don’t?” she finally says, still without meeting his eyes.

“Asked, and answered. You already know.”

She remains sitting, eyes closed, body still.

Hux suppresses a sigh then zaps her. He’s there when her muscles go limp, catching her beneath her armpits before she can fall boneless to the floor. Her weight sinks into him as he hauls her upright, all warm breasts and belly and thighs where she presses against him.

“Stand,” he says when her eyes regain their focus. “On your own.”

Her look hardens as she centres herself. She takes a step back, all coiled energy and wariness.

“Coward,” she spits.

Hux ignores her insult, eyes raking across her with disapproval instead.

“I have something for you,” he says.

Hux turns his back to her, fully aware that he is giving her every opportunity to sink her stolen blade square between his shoulders. When she doesn’t, Hux crosses the space to his closet. He removes the items from within not meant for him.

When he turns, she’s standing at the ready. Menace flares off her like radiation from a dying sun.

Her eyes flick to the items he holds then back to his.

“Undress,” he says with sharp-edged authority.

She shakes her head, fists rising in challenge. “No, not this time.”

Oh, she’s a willful one. All the sweeter when he breaks her.

Hux chuckles then goes serious.

Her eyes flick back to the items he holds.

“Clothing.” He answers her unspoken question. “In your size.”

She meets his gaze. He’s sure he sees a brief hint of uncertainty before her defiance returns.

“Undress,” he says again. “I grow tired of asking and so it will be the last time.”

“Or, what? You’ll do it for me?”

The bright flare of her indignation roils across his skin.

Hux waits without answering until she stands down.

His mouth goes dry as she tugs her shirt off. The pants go next, sliding off her slim hips to pool around her ankles. She steps back, freeing herself, and kicks the discarded material side, leaving her in nothing but her collar.

“Let’s have it then,” she says.

A rosy glow burnishes her skin and lights her cheeks. Hux has never seen anything more glorious than the woman standing before him.

He holds himself in tight check as he tosses her the garments. She snatches them from the air and makes quick work of dressing. Hux enjoys the way she runs her hands across the material, smoothing it into place.

“There are boots for you in the closet,” he says. “I’m sure I don't have to tell you where to find them.”

When she pushes past him, Hux flashes his hand out, gripping her upper arm to stop her. He yanks her close until they’re shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions.

“Leave them. You don’t need them at the moment.”

She tries to jerk free but he digs his fingers deep into the muscle of her arm. Her breath catches.

“You don’t need them. Come. I have something else to show you.”

“Let go of me,” she hisses.

Hux shoves her away then lands a warning cross to her sternum.

She stumbles back with a surprised grunt but keeps her footing.

He’s ready when she regains her balance. She comes up, all spit and fury.

Rey launches at him with a ragged howl, her tight little frame shoving him into the wall. Something small and hard digs into his back. He grunts when she lands a solid blow to his nose. The tingling pain makes his eyes water. He blinks hard to clear his vision.

Her small fists pummel his chest. He’ll wear the pinpoint bruises from her knuckles on his ribs for a week. He fights until he gains control of her hands.

Hux plants one foot on the wall behind him and pushes. They stumble and break apart.

He’s the one with the disadvantage now. His greatcoat and tunic limit his range of motion, leaving him open to attack.

“This isn’t going to go the way you think,” she says.

The corner of his mouth quirks up. “We’ll see.”

Hux moves fast, sweeping her legs from beneath her.

She sits hard, pain flashing across her face. Rey scrabbles away like a spider droid, stopping when her back hits the edge of his bed.

He’s there to meet her when she gains her feet. When her palms hit his chest, he grabs her wrists and pulls her close.

“Stop fighting,” he says, even though he enjoys the slide of her body against his while she struggles.

When she keeps resisting, he bends her hands behind her back, pinning them against her low back. Rey bows into him with a hiss of pain. His cock betrays his thoughts, desperate and traitorous between them.

He pulls her tighter and presses his cheek to hers, holding her in place. Her warm clean scent fills his head. His mouth finds the hollow beneath her ear. “Stop fighting immediately or your friends die while you watch.”

She lets out an anguished cry then goes still.

“That’s it,” he whispers against the warm shell of her ear when she softens against him. “That's a girl.”

“You will never win,” she says. Her words are hard but she shivers in his arms.

“I’m going to let go. Step away and turn around, hands behind your back.”

She does as he asks, this time without resisting.

Hux makes short work of snapping binders over her wrists. He curls one fist around the join between the shackles.

She sucks in a stuttering breath when he pulls her bound hands away from her body until she vibrates against the strain. Hux holds her in the uncomfortable position. All she has to do to relieve the pressure on her shoulder joints is fall to her knees. She refuses, choosing the pain instead. His eyes dart along the tense, well-defined muscles of her arms and shoulders and back. He’ll do well to keep her physical strength in mind.

“If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get. Come now,” he says.

Hux releases his grip.

Her bound hands fall to rest against her ass. She stands tall and rolls her shoulders before spinning to face him.

Hux has two stormtroopers escort them from his quarters. He walks behind the trio, his mind a riot of possibilities as he watches the liquid way she moves between her guards.

The only sounds are the squawk of the troopers’ comms and the clank of booted feet against polished durasteel. They pause before a door. Hux has to step forward to key in the access code.

“Leave us,” he says.

The troopers salute and march away in unison, their footsteps fading as they turn the corner.

“I’ll let you out of the binders once we’re inside,” he says.

She crosses the threshold, doesn’t stop until she’s standing in the middle of the room.

The door hisses shut behind him. It locks into place with a metallic clank that echoes through the vast space.

She spins to face him, fury written plain across her features.

“Seriously? This?”

He feigns surprise. “Is this not what you’ve been asking me for?”

“I’ve asked you for nothing.”

“Haven’t you?” He pushes away from the door. His hands move to his throat, working the fastenings of his uniform open.

She steps away, crouched and wary and so beautifully vulnerable with her arms locked behind her.

Hux shrugs free of his tunic and flings it away. The garment lands in a reckless heap against the wall, leaving him in only his singlet and trousers. He maintains a safe distance while he removes his boots. His bare feet anchor into the cool floor.

“Turn around and stand still.”

She sizes him up then presents her back to him.

Hux makes short work of the binders, slipping them free of her wrists without hesitation. The moment she’s loose, energy rips from her. He curls in, crouching beneath her savage swing before darting away. She goes off balance from the missed hit, giving him an opportunity to reset.

They circle in slow side to side arcs until Hux grows tired of waiting.

He lunges in, feigning a strike before letting a hard cross fly. Hux grunts in surprise when she counters both and lands a return jab to his shoulder that forces him to take one step back.

She lashes out with a vicious, unexpected kick that catches his retreating hip.

He lets the momentum spin him away, giving him the briefest of moments to check his surprise before rising to meet her oncoming attack.

Block. Strike. Block. Strike.  _Strike!_

Hux presses forward until he’s the one attacking.

She counters each of his moves though her form is crude and undisciplined. The gaps in her technique give him the opening he needs to drop her. She hits the mats with a surprised yelp while he remains standing.

“Get up,” he says. Hux is done with playtime. He’s done going easy on her. Time to see what she is really made of.

He lets her rise, taking a moment to savour the fire raging within her, before he launches. She’s on her back again before she can unleash a single strike.

“Again,” he says. “Do it again. Only this time, set your stance left side forward instead of right.”

When she’s set, Hux goes at her, same as before. It takes him greater effort to drop her with the new positioning.

“Again. This time with discipline.”

She pushes herself off the floor, listening as he explains.

“Ready?” he asks.

She answers by shifting her stance.

Once again, he quickly defeats her.

Hux goes straight to the next round, and the next, pushing her to the edge of endurance. He offers no additional insight, no mercy, each defeat burning hotter.

He spins around her, victorious, then reaches his hand out.

As she has twice before, she takes it without a word.

This time, instead of letting go when she gains her feet, he tightens his grip and pulls her to him.

She bares her teeth and tries to twist free.

Anticipating her move, he uses her momentum against her, bending her arm backward at a painful angle until she’s on her knees with her back to him.

“Yield,” he demands.

She heaves in a breath before answering.

“Never!” It’s more growl than speech as she frog-legs into him. Her back crashes into his diaphram hard enough to kick his breath from his lungs. By some miracle, he manages to keep his feet.

Hux ignores his body’s demand for oxygen. He shoots his arms beneath her armpits and curls his forearms back until his hands nearly touch his shoulders, clamping her in place so she can’t use her arms. Her heels strum against his shins when he lifts her from her feet.

Without warning, Hux leans back, letting gravity pull them to the mats.

She squeals in surprise but Hux knows what’s coming. He braces himself for the impact of her body against his. When it comes, he rebounds, rolling them until he has her pinned face-down against the mats.

Her legs flail until he can wind his around hers and still their movement.

“Yield.”

“Fuck you,” she snarls. The back of her head smashes into his nose with a sickening crunch.

Hux rolls off her with a groan, hands flying to his injured face. Blood flows down the back of his throat, making it hard to breathe.

Her weight sinks across his hips. She rips his hands away from his face. Hux fights to keep her from pinning them to the mat.

He forces his eyes, stinging and blind with tears, to open. For a single heartbeat, he’s sure she’s about to rip his throat out with her small, savage teeth.

It isn’t his throat she’s after. The touch of her mouth on his stills him. His lips part with a shuddering gasp.

She licks into his mouth before her tongue retreats to play across his lips. He groans, arching into her, all reason burned away by the release she promises.

“Rey…”

An energy blade hums to life, dragging him from the honey-thick syrup of his desire.

Hux crashes back to himself, no time to waste on self-examination beneath the bright glare of weakness.

She has him dead to rights, her stolen blade sparking against his throat. Death waits for him in her eyes.

Hux plays one of his final cards, refusing to surrender even in the face of a grave mistake.

“Would you like to see him?” Hux asks.

She holds her ground and Hux smells the sickly sweet stench of burning flesh a split second before the pain arrives.

“Kylo Ren." Hux grits out the name. "Would you like to see him, Rey?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reads, the kudos, and the comments!


	13. Babylon Is Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That’s it,” he whispers, breath warm across her ear as she eases against him. “That’s a girl.”
> 
> It doesn’t matter that he’s fed her and taken nothing in return. Doesn’t matter that he’s brought her clothing and stopped showing her images of her friends in pain. All cheap tokens meant to deceive. 
> 
> Rey doesn’t play this game. Not with him. Not with anyone. Not anymore.
> 
> “You will never win,” she says with a confidence she wishes she felt.
> 
> “I’m going to let go. Step away and turn around, hands behind your back.”
> 
> When Hux releases her, she does as he asks. There’s no point in resisting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From a certain point of view...

“Clothing,” he says. “In your size.”

Rey’s heart drops, beating staccato in her stomach. She stares at him, gauging her odds. They’re not good. Not good at all.

“Undress,” he says again. “I grow tired of asking and so it will be the last time.”

“Or, what? You’ll do it for me?” She tries to stall, tries to keep her cool as adrenaline pinches her middle.

He waits but she knows his patience won’t last. There's only one choice if she wants any chance at keeping the weapon she’s hidden in the rolled over waistband of her borrowed pants. Rey stands down.

With a final glare, she crosses her arms in front of her and grabs the hem of her shirt. She keeps her eyes on him as she tugs it off, only losing sight of him for the brief moment it takes the material to clear her face.

His eyes leave hers to stare lower. Rey takes the opportunity to drop the pants and kick them aside in such a way that doesn’t reveal the weapon hidden within the folds. There’s a slim chance she’ll regain possession of it.

He stares too long and Rey doesn’t like anything about the way he’s looking at her.

“Let’s have it then,” she says.

Enough time passes that she starts to consider whether to pull the ill-fitting, discarded garments back on. At least she’ll be armed again. Rey tenses, getting ready to spring, when he tosses the items he holds at her.

She snatches them from the air and dresses quickly, relieved to no longer be undressed in front of him. True to his word, the top and pants fit. Rey runs her hands across the material until it rests like a second skin on her frame. There’s nowhere to conceal anything extra beneath the dark fabric.

“There are boots for you in the closet,” he says. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you where to find them.”

_he knows!_

Stupid to have thought he wouldn't be watching. Still, even he has to sleep. There has to have been at least some of her time he isn’t aware of.

When she pushes past him, his hand lashes out, fingers circling her upper arm. He yanks her close until they’re shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions.

“Leave them. You don’t need them at the moment,” he says.

She jerks away but he digs his fingers deep into the muscle of her arm. Her breath catches.

“You don’t need them. Come. I have something else to show you.”

“Let go of me,” she hisses.

He throws his weight into the place their bodies touch, opening a gap between them. His free fist snaps out in a warning cross, connecting with her sternum.

She stumbles back with a surprised grunt. Quick to correct course, Rey breathes into the hit and dances away to regain her footing.

When she rises, he’s ready and the only thing left to do is wipe the smug look from his face.

Rey launches at him, a ragged howl tearing from her throat. They crash into the wall and she’s all fists and fury. Most of him is solid as durasteel. She lands a blow into a soft place, feels him flag before he fights back.

Her wild attack is no match for his calm focus. He gains control of her flailing hands and drags her to him. Just as quick, she’s stumbling back, free of him.

In the momentary pause, Rey takes control of her emotions. Her resolve hardens to a pinpoint. There’s no going down without a fight.

“This isn’t going to go the way you think,” she says.

The corner of his mouth quirks up in an infuriating half-grin. “We’ll see.”

_oh, you fucking—_

Before she can finish her thought, he flashes forward. Her feet lose contact with the floor and all she knows is pain. It rips up from her tailbone as her ass hits the deck. Rey scrabbles back, pain dulled by the massive jolt of adrenaline flooding her system.

He’s crowded too far into her space. The discarded pants concealing her stolen weapon rest just far enough out of range that she has no chance. Rey rises, unarmed and ready to defend.

She sees an opening in his stance and takes it, fists aimed at center mass.

Before her hands can make contact, his fingers clamp around her wrists. He pulls wide, tilting her off balance until she’s crashing against him.

She digs her heels in, trying to gain enough purchase to push away.

“Stop fighting.” His grip tightens. If the menace in his voice wasn’t enough, the hard length of his cock against her thigh says everything.

_no, never! not ever!_

Rey refuses to give in. She struggles to free herself, determined to break his hold.

He overpowers her anyway, dragging her hands behind her back and pinning them against the small of her back. She bows into him in an effort to ease the pain that blooms in her shoulder joints.

He presses his cheek to hers, holding tight against her struggles. His cock isn’t the only thing beneath his clothing that’s hard. It’s not much but it’s something. If she can get close enough, there’s a small chance.

“Stop fighting immediately or your friends die while you watch.” Hux pours the words into her ear like a stream of molten metal.

Searing guilt steals her breath. She’s been so focused on her own survival, she’s given no thought to Finn or Poe. Overwhelmed, she goes slack.

“That’s it,” he whispers, breath warm across her ear as she eases against him. “That’s a girl.”

It doesn’t matter that he’s fed her and taken nothing in return. Doesn’t matter that he’s brought her clothing and stopped showing her images of her friends in pain. All cheap tokens meant to deceive.

Rey doesn’t play this game. Not with him. Not with anyone. Not anymore.

“You will never win,” she says with a confidence she wishes she felt.

“I’m going to let go. Step away and turn around, hands behind your back.”

When Hux releases her, she does as he asks. There’s no point in resisting.

Cold durasteel snakes around her wrists, smearing her skin with the slick residue of doubt.

She sucks in a stuttering breath when he pulls her bound hands away from her body. Rey fights the urge to fall to her knees to ease the pain, unwilling to yield. Her muscles vibrate against the strain the longer Hux holds her in the uncomfortable position.

“If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get. Come now,” he says.

Hux releases his grip.

Her bound hands fall to rest against her ass, free of him once more. She stands tall and rolls her shoulders before spinning to face him.

Apprehension licks up her spine when he summons two troopers. Out of options for the moment, she allows them to escort her from his quarters. Hux follows, keeping close pace.

The only sounds are the squawk of the troopers’ comms and the clank of booted feet against polished durasteel. They pause before a door. Hux steps forward to key in an access code.

“Leave us,” he says.

The troopers salute and march away in unison, their footsteps fading as they turn the corner.

“I’ll let you out of the binders once we’re inside,” he says.

Hope sparks, spurring Rey across the threshold. She doesn’t stop until she’s standing in the middle of the room.

The door hisses shut, locking into place with a metallic clank that echoes through the vast space.

Furious energy sparks in her belly.

She spins to confront him.

“Seriously? This?”

His eyebrows go up. “Is this not what you’ve been asking me for?”

Her fury reaches the boiling point.

“I’ve asked you for nothing.” She keeps a wary eye on him as he pushes away from the door.

He shucks his greatcoat before his hands move to his collar to work the fastenings of his uniform open. He flings it away, letting it fall in a reckless heap against the wall. Pale skin the colour of moonlight stretches across the coiled muscles in his arms.

“Haven’t you?” he asks.

With her hands still bound behind her, he holds every advantage and she has no doubt he intends to leverage them all.

He moves out of range and removes his footwear.

Rey watches him step within striking distance, his hands and feet bare.

“Turn around and stand still,” he says.

Rey gauges her options. She’d been afraid his concealed weapon had been discarded with his greatcoat and tunic. The slight distortion of his trousers along his hip tells her otherwise.

Rey turns and presents her back to him.

The moment she’s loose, she spins one arm up and back, rising with as much power as she can generate.

Vertigo spins through her when she meets only air. She stumbles but only for a moment.

Squared off, they circle in slow side to side arcs.

Hux lunges in, feigning a jab before letting a hard cross fly.

Rey blocks both and returns a solid strike to his shoulder.

She follows it with a vicious kick to his retreating hip when he steps back against her blow.

He spins away and comes up fighting.

Strike. Block. Strike. Block. _Strike!_

Hux gains the advantage, pressing forward.

She struggles to counter his moves, comes up short. Rey yelps when he drops her to the mats.

“Get up.” His voice is quiet and deadly serious.

For a moment, Rey wishes she had use of the Force. The next thought squashes the regret. If she’s going to take him, it’s going to be a fair fight. He’s bigger than she but he’s no exception to the others who have come before him. Rey falls back on her origins, fire and fury lighting her way.

She rises only to find herself on her back again before she can unleash a single strike.

“Again,” he says. “Do it again. Only this time, set your stance left side forward instead of right.”

Rey sets in the new position.

He comes at her again. It takes him more effort before she drops.

“Again. This time with discipline.”

She listens to his explanation, much as she had with Ezra, even though the lessons offered by the two men couldn’t be more different. What Hux says calms the fury within her, allows her to think.

“Ready?” he asks.

Rey answers by shifting into ready stance.

Once again, he quickly defeats her.

Before she can regain her bearings, he goes to the next round, and the next, and the next. Heart pounding, muscles burning, Rey’s at the edge of her endurance.

He offers no additional insight, no mercy, each defeat burning hotter.

Hux glides around her then slows and reaches his hand out.

As she has twice before, she takes it without a word.

This time, instead of letting go when she gains her feet, he tightens his grip and pulls her to him.

She bares her teeth and tries to twist free.

It’s a mistake. He uses her momentum against her, bending her arm backward at a painful angle until she falls her knees with her back to him.

“Yield,” he demands.

She heaves in a breath before answering.

“Never!” Rey springs into him, her back crashing into his core.

His breath rushes from his lungs and by some cruel twist of fate, he manages to keep his feet.

His arms clamp around her shoulder joints making it impossible to use her arms. She strums her heels against his shins when he lifts her from her feet.

Rey squeals in surprise when she feels the inevitable drag of gravity. His body softens some of the impact but she’s not ready when he rebounds. It gives him space to roll them until she’s pinned face down against the mats with him on top.

She kicks her legs at nothing but air until he winds his around hers, stilling their movement.

“Yield.”

“Fuck you!” She whips her head back, savouring the sickening crunch from the contact with his face.

Hux rolls off her with a groan, hands flying to his injured face.

Rey seizes the opportunity and springs up to straddle him. She bears down with as much weight as she can and rips his hands away from his face.

He fights her attempt to pin his hands to the mat. Bright lines of blood trail from his nose and run along his throat. His hair stands in disheveled peaks like flames in winter. He’s beautiful this way, so hot and cold and _yearning_.

_… k ill him… _

She wants to sink her teeth into the bloodstained flesh of his throat, wants to rip until his life fountains out onto the floor, wants to fuck him as he dies beneath her.

He goes still when her mouth finds his.

His breath stutters when she slides her tongue between his lips. It’s the only chance she’s going to get. Rey takes possession of the blade he hides along his hip.

He says her name in the split second before she ignites the weapon against his throat.

Rey steels herself to deliver the killing blow.

“Would you like to see him?’ Hux asks.

She’s far too committed to stop. The sickly sweet stench of burning flesh fills her nose.

“Kylo Ren.” His words are laced with pain and wonder. “Would you like to see him, Rey?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reads, the kudos, and the comments!


	14. You Were Never Right To Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She’s said nothing while he’s had his wounds tended to and she says nothing now. Rey’s eyes drift closed as the droid leaves.
> 
> Hux turns away and heads for the fresher without breaking the silence. He tugs his ruined singlet over his head and drops it down the garbage chute. His pants follow. 
> 
> He wishes it were as easy to calm the storm raging inside him. She’s like nothing he’s ever encountered before. Fierce and savage and strong. She’s also unsettled and drifting and lonely, _so lost and lonely._ The combination exhilarates him. 
> 
> His thoughts turn to the past while he waits for the water to warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where does the time go? I cannot believe it's been five weeks since my last update. I hope you will find this and the next few chapters worth waiting for. If you're still around, thanks!

He slaps the blade from her hand. The weapon skitters away, deactivating when it smashes into the far wall. Hux rolls them over and anchors her to the mats with his knees long enough to free his hands so he can up the voltage on her collar. She tenses then stops fighting, going slack beneath him.

The place she cut him burns like blaster fire and his head pounds from what he's sure is a broken nose. Hux repositions himself, anchoring his hands into her shoulders so he can settle his weight low across her lap. He can't help sliding across the hot juncture between her thighs.

“You're sick,” she says.

For a moment, he thinks she's referring to his unabashed frottage then it dawns on him.

“Ah, yes. Of course.” Bright blood drips off his chin. She flinches each time it splatters across her throat. “Ren’s not dead. Not yet, anyway.”

“Liar.” She glares up at him. Strange, golden light flickers in her eyes. “I watched you kill him on Dagobah.”

Cold, black tongues lick up his spine where their bodies join. She gives off the same darkness that shrouds Ren.

_There it is_

Hux shivers as he watches his blood leak from under her collar. She turns hot and bright beneath him. The vicious urge to take her rises like bile, violent and bitter. Every part of him vibrates. Hux teeters on the edge, pulling back just in time. He struggles to control his harsh breathing.

_Not yet!_

“Kylo Ren is most assuredly alive.”

The menace between them retreats like the ocean before a rising tsunami as the desperate uncertainty from her earliest days with him returns.

“Why are you doing this?” she asks, voice pitched higher with a quiet, plaintive edge. “What do you want?”

What does he want? He wants something he’s never wanted before. He wants to go back and start again. It’s too late for that. No sense wasting any more time on something he can never have.

It’s the future he’s pursuing now, a future filled with her. He’s seen her, touched her, tasted her, knows for certain that this ends with them bringing peace and prosperity to the galaxy.

Hux wants to tell her all of these things but he can’t. Not yet. There is still the business of Kylo Ren and the Resistance to deal with. If he plays his hand right, if the stars grace him with all their luck, if he’s ever done anything right, everything that must happen is on course to converge at a singular point of impact.

That there will be violence and death and destruction when it happens, he knows this without a doubt. That part will be no different from any other battle. He’s ready for it. He's been ready a long time. If he’s right, though, this could well be the last time.

When it’s all over, when the dead are mourned and buried, and the cities and villages and lives rebuilt, when the past becomes so much ash and dust, only then will she take her rightful place at his side.

Worthy. Powerful. Empress.

He tells her none of these things.

Instead, Hux springs away, letting her free of his grip.

“Let’s go.”

He stands out of range as she pushes herself to her feet, body tense, eyes on the dagger.

“Please, don't,” he says. “My patience grows thin.”

“Are we done here?” Her stance tells him she’s not ready to back down. 

He scoops the binders up and says, “Hands behind you.”

As soon as she’s secured, Hux dresses. The wound on his neck makes it impossible to fasten his uniform collar. With his great coat settled on his shoulders, he pulls a clean square of cloth from an interior pocket and presses it gingerly to his battered face trying to staunch the last of the blood flow.

On the way back to his rooms, Hux diffuses two encounters with patrolling Stormtrooper squads, all of whom draw their blasters upon seeing their General battered and bloodied in the unescorted company of a prisoner.

At last, he pushes her across the threshold of his rooms. Hux swallows his shaky sigh when the door locks behind them.

“Sit and wait for me,” he says, pointing to the chair at his desk.

She complies without saying anything.

Satisfied, he heads for the fresher. Hux grips the cool edges of the sink. His eyes have already begun to blacken. He leans over to peer at his nose from different directions in the mirror. Judging by the pain and the off-kilter angle, there's no doubt she’s broken it.

The laceration along his neck still weeps small beads of blood along its crusting edge. Hux turns his head too quickly. The edges split with a sharp sting that sends a fresh runnel of crimson leaking beneath his open collar.

He summons a medical droid. When it arrives, he removes Rey's binders and has her cuts and bruises tended to first while he shucks off his outer garments. When she’s done, she sinks down, sitting cross-legged in the middle of his room to watch.

The droid turns its attention to him. Hux refuses the painkiller and grits his way through having his nose reset and the laceration closed up. The bacta eases some of the lingering pain but it’s a while before his eyes stop watering.

She’s said nothing while he’s had his wounds tended to and she says nothing now. Rey’s eyes drift closed as the droid leaves.

Hux turns away and heads for the fresher without breaking the silence. He tugs his ruined singlet over his head and drops it down the garbage chute. His pants follow.

He wishes it were as easy to calm the storm raging inside him. She’s like nothing he’s ever encountered before. Fierce and savage and strong. She’s also unsettled and drifting and lonely, _so lost and lonely_. The combination exhilarates him.

His thoughts turn to the past while he waits for the water to warm.

He had still been riding his rising star when Ren had joined his command. At first, Hux had taken it as another sign that he was destined to become the next Emperor. If galactic history told him anything, it told Hux that all self-proclaimed Emperors who had come before him had taken a dark Force-user as their second in command. He had believed Kylo Ren was meant to become his.

In the short time it had taken him to realise his mistake, it had already been too late. Hux’s surety had earned him a powerful enemy. In Hux’s greatest moment of defeat, Kylo Ren had forced him to his knees, clawing and spitting against the invisible vice grip around his throat as the _Supremacy_ vaporised around him. In that singular moment, he'd had no choice other than to recognise Ren as Supreme Leader.

But, now? Now, what he thought had been an all too swift and humiliating final defeat, he sees had been another test, another step closer toward his final ascent. With all his previous achievements stripped away, he finally understands where all this is heading and what remains to be done. Now, he knows that Ren’s place in all this is so very different. It chafes at Hux that, even now, he needs Ren. It’s the only reason Ren lives still.

Steam billows from the fresher, breaking across his skin in smoky wisps. It brings him back to the present. Hux breathes in the soothing scent of his Milla flowers and steps beneath the spray. Water sluices down his body, running pink then clear between his toes as his blood washes clean. The deep-set ache from their fight is beginning to seep into his muscles. He braces himself against the wall with one hand, hunching over until his head moves under the heavy stream of water.

It was always her. Rey has always been his second. But he doesn’t want her. Not as his second. It's the fatal flaw the others before him have perpetuated in endless, looping cycles of war and violence, trying again and again to subjugate something that was never meant to yield.

He wants her equal, in all things. She is his first.

Water snakes down his back in small, cool rivulets. Hux stays under, lungs burning with their growing demand for oxygen. His head swims until the water seems to run in the wrong direction, trailing up across his back and shoulders instead of down.

_“Who… to you?”_

Her voice is muffled by the water still running over his ears. There's nothing muted about the way her fingers drag across the thick white bands of scar tissue criss crossing his back.

Hux lurches away, nearly smashing his head into the fresher wall and sucks in a choking, watery breath.

Her fingers slip from his skin as he twists toward her. Hux clears the water from his face and pulls in another harsh breath.

Still dressed in the clothes he gave her, his dried blood flakes along her collarbones and throat. In her right hand, she holds the mono blade she took from his closet. It’s pointed at the floor instead of at him, loose in her grip as though she’s forgotten its purpose.

“Who gave you those?” Her eyes are wide and fever bright. She’s looking at him like he’s something precious that’s been broken.

His tightly held control fractures. A low, desperate moan escapes his throat. Hux rushes forward, wet fingers winding into her hair then he's kissing her with everything he has, no longer caring that it may be the last thing he’ll ever do, almost wishing she'd slip the thin blade between his ribs until it ruptures his heart. At least he'll die with the sweet promise of her breaking across his lips.

She jumps and squeaks in surprise. He hears the brittle blade shatter against the tiles when she loses her grip. Her fingers curl around his wrists. Instead of trying to get away, she kisses him back, her tongue hot and eager, _knowing_.

Jealousy rips across his skin, singeing and tight. He is not her first.

_Ren_

Hux groans in frustration and pushes her up against the wall, not caring that he's crushing his beloved flowers and foliage under their weight. His mouth leaves hers to possess every bit of her skin he can find. The sharp tang of copper drifts across his tongue when he kisses along her collarbone.

She pulls his hands from her hair and pushes him back, fingers still clamped around his wrists. Her eyes search his.

“The scars. Who?” she asks in a harsh whisper.

“Doesn’t matter.” And, for the first time, maybe it doesn't.

Hux pulls her in until he's kissing her again. When she doesn't resist, he slows down, even though his heart is pounding in his throat and he can't breathe.

Her fingers flit across his cheeks and along the slender column of his neck. Her touch is cold fire licking along his skin. She digs her thumbs into the hollow of his throat.

He breaks the kiss, breath stuttering against her lips when her hands cinch around his neck tight enough to restrict his airway. His hips grind into her with long-held need. Hux groans into her open mouth.

_you like this_

_Yes_

Humiliation heats him from within at the careless admission. His pale skin, already pink from the warm water, flushes an even deeper hue. Hux knocks her hands away and takes two steps back.

“Get out!” He's shaking, fists clenched against barely controlled rage.

Her face registers shock followed by stone cold resolve. She doesn't move.

“Get. _Out!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reads, the kudos, and the comments!


	15. To Each, Her Own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Show him to me,” she says. The last traces of sleep have evaporated, replaced by sharp focus.
> 
> “Not until you’re clean and properly dressed.” 
> 
> Her fingers drift to her throat to flutter against the sleek metal of her collar. Hux doesn’t miss the look of longing she gives the fresher. 
> 
> It’s not a wish he’s granting. 
> 
> She jumps when his cool hands touch the warm skin beneath her shirt but she doesn’t push him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eep!
> 
> Enjoy :)

It takes him long moments after she's retreated to gather the pieces of himself into some semblance of order. Longer than he's comfortable with if he wants to convince himself he's still in control of this situation.

He goes through the motions of his normal hygienic routine. Drying his skin before dressing. Combing his hair into neat order. Scraping the russet shadows from his cheeks and chin and throat, careful not to disturb his healing wounds. Hux sinks into the ritual, letting it calm him as it grounds some of the electricity surging through him.

With his composure restored, Hux returns to his bedroom, skin clean, hair combed into place, clothes fresh. It’s her turn and he means to see she receives a proper cleansing.

He finds her sound asleep in the middle of his bed, curled up in the nest she’s made out of his blankets. For a brief moment, he considers letting her sleep before the rational part of his mind kicks in. It’s better if she’s riding the same edge of exhaustion as he is.

Even so, Hux takes precious minutes he doesn’t have waking her. When he brushes his fingers across her cheek, she sighs and leans into his touch instead of attacking him. Her eyes remain closed, fluttering against visions he cannot imagine.

“Rey.” Hux sweeps the pad of his thumb across her dry, sleep-parted lips before sitting back without touching. “Wake up.”

She coils tighter within the blankets until only her face is visible.

_come back!_

Her panicked plea resonates in his mind, loosening his joints with prickly weakness. Hux has spent enough time with Kylo Ren to recognise that the fear he feels is hers and hers alone. Even so, his heart beats in desperation against the phantom hands crushing his ribs.

Impossible but his heart revs faster. He’s on familiar ground, knows what to do.

“Shhhh. It's over.” Hux whispers the words as his fingers push damp strands of hair off her cheek. He’s sure to keep his voice light and his touch firm. Little tricks he’s picked up from helping Ren deal with the aftermath of his erratic outbursts. “Shhh…Come now. Time to wake up.”

The heavy pressure in his chest eases as she sits up and comes awake all at once. The blankets slither off her shoulders to puddle around her lap.

He gives her a moment then pulls her upright.

Her eyes are still hazy with sleep. Faint pink colours her cheeks, visible remnants of the warmth she’s found in his bed. She looks soft and compliant, vulnerable. Electricity spikes in his gut because he knows she is none of these things.

Rey doesn’t look at him, even when he steps into her space.

“Show him to me,” she says. The last traces of sleep have evaporated, replaced by sharp focus.

“Not until you’re clean and properly dressed.”

Her fingers drift to her throat to flutter against the sleek metal of her collar. Hux doesn’t miss the look of longing she gives the fresher.

It’s not a wish he’s granting.

She jumps when his cool hands touch the warm skin beneath her shirt but she doesn’t push him away.

Hux hooks the hem of her shirt under his thumbs and draws his hands up. His palms follow the dip of her waist and the swell of her ribs. Her shirt rides up, taking his blood pressure with it. The ache in his middle expands when she shivers under his touch and raises her arms without being told.

Hux strips her shirt away, leaving her bare from the waist up. An excited huff of breath escapes his lips before he can bite it back. He slides his hands into the back of her waistband. His fingers curve along the swell of her ass, making it easy to draw her closer. Hux tilts his head and leans in.

She clamps her hands around his forearms, holding them apart.

“ _Don’t._ Let me see him first before you...have me. _Please…”_

The tremor in her voice stops him cold. He’s treading dangerous water. The eager heat of her earlier kiss has vaporised.

Hux backs down, pulling free of her so he can step away. He can’t afford to lose even the small ground he’s gained. He reaches for her hand instead, encouraged when she allows him to take it.

“Come with me.” She follows behind him, hand linked with his. Hux releases her once they reach the fresher.

When the water runs warm, he urges her forward while he stays back.

“Go on,” he says. “I’ll wait here.”

Her eyes flash with equal parts gratitude and venom. For a moment, he thinks she’s going to admonish him about being watched while she bathes. She turns her back to him instead and strips off the pants. Water bounces off her skin, misting around her like a shroud.

It’s easy to imagine her this way on some warm, tropical island, water thundering over a sheer rocky cliff while she stands before it, shining and beautiful in the sun and spray.

She lets out a contented sigh that almost sounds like his name, the one he never allows others to speak. It turns his legs to jelly.

Her quiet yelp when the collar zaps her pulls him out of his daydream.

Hux watches Rey struggle to wash his blood from her throat without getting electrocuted but offers no help.

She yelps again, sending a jolt sizzling across his nerves.

_… she lies before him, bare legs parted in invitation. hux presses his lips to the inside of her thigh. her skin smells of warm Jakkuvian winds…_

The image fades but the sense of her remains. He can still smell her, feel the warmth of her skin against his lips even though it's impossible.

He watches, helpless, as Rey loses her battle to keep the collar dry. It buzzes and zaps her again.

_… his cock drags through the slick mess between her thighs. her small hand reaches for him as his name falls from her lips in quiet prayer… armitage, please…_

He leans against the wall as this image fades as well, his legs unable to guarantee he’ll be able to stay upright without support if this sorcery goes much further.

She yelps again and it’s nearly his undoing.

_… the tight heat of her swallows his cock as he sinks into her until there’s no longer space between them. he pulls back, just as slow, then thrusts into her, desperate and greedy… again… and once more…_

On the verge of coming, he tears himself away and storms into his room trying to breathe himself off the edge. It's no good.

 _“Fuck!”_ Before he can stop himself, his fist smashes into the wall.

The physical pain helps.

“Fuck! Fuck! _Fuck!”_ He punctuates each curse with another strike. The agony of his final blow brings him to one knee, injured hand tucked into his armpit, breath ragged against the pain.

He stays down until his breathing slows then pulls his hand free to survey the damage.

_Stupid!_

The knuckles are bloody and bruised. He flexes his fingers, hissing at the pain. Nothing seems broken except his pride.

He needs bacta but that means going into the fresher and he can't risk that. Hux pours himself a generous drink instead. His hands tremble when he lifts the glass to his lips but he manages to regain a reasonable sliver of his senses by the time the liquor is gone.

The water in the fresher turns off and Hux has a bad feeling about this.

Tense moments pass before her silhouette darkens the doorway. She takes one step into his room and Hux is certain she means to undo him. The last time he saw her like this, hair wet, nothing but a towel to cover her, she’d been sitting in his lap, offering him sex in exchange for food.

 _“Fuck,”_ he says one more time under his breath. He flexes the injured hand, grounding himself with the flare of pain.

Hux moves closer but stays out of range, not quite willing to trust himself.

“Get dressed,” he orders.

Hux watches her skin disappear beneath the clothes he’s provided. He says nothing when she pulls the boots on.

She tries her best to untangle her hair using only her fingers. He waits a moment before leaving her.

Hux makes for the fresher. He debates whether to treat his wounded hand, wondering if it might be to his advantage to keep the pain close in case he starts to lose control again.

_Nonsense_

The bacta stings then soothes his swollen knuckles until the pain recedes. He catches sight of himself in the mirror, scowling at his disheveled hair.

He’s combing everything into place when understanding strikes him like lightning.

_… armitage…_

Hux knows what comes next. He gathers the items he needs with the quick efficiency of someone who has a plan.

It pleases him to find her still trying to tame her hair when he returns.

"You're only making it worse. Sit." He swivels his desk chair in invitation.

Rey stops fighting with her hair to give him a dubious glare.

"I'm actually quite good at it. My mother had long hair and often had me comb it."

He lets out an exasperated sigh at her continued resistance.

" _Oh, for the love of..._ Sit and let me comb out the knots."

She's wary and tense but sits nonetheless, her back to him.

Her hair smells of standard issue soap. He makes a note to have a softener delivered as he surveys the damage.

Hux starts at the back near the ends. It's slow, tough going at first. She makes no sounds, even when he knows he's pulled hard enough to hurt.

By the time he's worked halfway through the back, her shoulders have loosened up almost as much as her hair.

The sides are easier but require a more delicate touch to keep the pulling to a minimum.

Her hair is nearly dry by the time he is able to draw the comb smoothly through. Hux continues long after his strokes are unnecessary simply to feel the way she shivers beneath his touch. On the next pass, she lets out a quiet little sigh that sets him on fire.

Despite his best efforts, it’s not a sound she repeats. At last, he stops combing and works her hair into the treble of buns she prefers. His styling is a little different than hers, smoother and rounder.

When he's satisfied, he leans over her shoulder until their cheeks nearly touch. She stays still though her breath quickens. Hux holds up the handheld mirror he brought.

Her eyes flit to herself then to him then back to herself.

"Do you like it? I'm afraid it's the closest I could come to replicating your style," he says.

She turns her head side to side, eyes bouncing around without stopping. It’s as though she’s burning the image of herself into her memory.

"I—it's fine."

He waits long moments until her eyes find his in the mirror. Her skin has paled from lack of sunlight but her cheeks are fuller, tinted pink with a belly that’s no longer hungry.

“Do you like what you see, Rey?” he asks.

Her eyes dart away, looking anywhere but in the mirror. She gives him no answer beyond short, tight huffs of breath.

“I’m not the only one who saw it, am I?”

Hux places a light kiss behind her ear, watching as her eyes close. She darts her tongue out, wetting her parted lips. Heat rushes through him.

“Those were your thoughts, weren’t they, Rey?” She'd said his name and given everything away.

“No.” Her quiet answer is more plea than denial, begging him to say no more.

Hux curls his free hand around her arm before placing a light kiss on her shoulder.

“I have so much more to show you,” he whispers.

Her eyes snap open, finding his in the mirror once more.

"The only thing you have that I want to see is Kylo Ren."

Rey doesn't protest when Hux binds her arms behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reads, the kudos, and the comments!


	16. The Price of Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s run this moment through his mind in endless variations, planned for every eventual outcome. Now that the moment is here, he’s at a complete loss. In no scenario is this a possibility he's considered. It leaves him even more unmoored and disconcerted.
> 
> Hux draws Rey close until she curls her back into his chest. Her bound hands settle against the front of his thigh. She doesn’t resist when he buries his face in the space between her neck and shoulder. 
> 
> Her collar beeps softly against his cheek, reminding him that she is not yet his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has stayed along on this journey. The comments and conversations I've had with you all are priceless. We are so close! There are only a few chapters remaining.

Hux winds them through countless corridors, circling back in random loops until he hopes she’s lost track of their path. He pauses when they reach their destination to up the voltage on her collar. Bad things tend to happen when two powerful Force-users share the same space and he’s taking no chances.

Internal alarms go off when the voltage maxes out. Pulse pounding, Hux double-checks the readout. The numbers stare back at him in accusatory red confirming his worst fear. By his own design, she should be dead. Instead, she’s still and calm, waiting for him to make the next move.

Doubt, cold and unfamiliar, tugs at his fraying edges. There are too many unanticipated variables.

“You’re afraid,” she says.

His face heats up as he struggles to come up with a denial. Turning away now means almost certain defeat. He has no more leverage against her Force abilities. There’s no doubt she’ll kill him if he doesn’t show her Ren.

The alternative isn’t much better. Reuniting them means two to one odds, not in his favour.

With time running out, Hux rolls the dice.

He submits his biometrics. When the containment door hisses open, he curls his fingers around her bicep. The frequency of her collar electrifies his arm. The discomfort is enough to make him grit his teeth. How she’s still standing is beyond him. Hux nudges her into the room.

Rey draws a sharp breath, body going rigid and hesitant in his grasp as the reason they are here comes into sharp focus.

He guides her toward the thick slab of carbonite suspended horizontal above the floor.

Rising from its upper face, Kylo Ren stares into nothing, eyes frozen wide, mouth twisted in agony, hands clawing for something he can never reach.

The air resonates, sucking away the ambient sounds. Hux grinds to a halt half a meter from the edge of Ren’s prison. Everything slows but his heartbeat as she coils against his chest, settling into him with a deep breath.

Without warning, Rey jerks in his arms and spits. A thick gob of saliva lands on Ren’s inert face. The viscous substance runs down the track she carved into his flesh on Starkiller.

“Destroy it!” Rey struggles to break free.

Hux fights hard to keep her under control as his thoughts reel.

He’s run this moment through his mind in endless variations, planned for every eventual outcome. Now that the moment is here, he’s at a complete loss. In no scenario is this a possibility he's considered. It leaves him even more unmoored and disconcerted.

Hux draws Rey close until she curls her back into his chest. Her bound hands settle against the front of his thigh. She doesn’t resist when he buries his face in the space between her neck and shoulder.

Her collar beeps softly against his cheek, reminding him that she is not yet his.

“You're lovers, are you not?” He breathes the words, hot with envy, against her bare shoulder.

“No! Never! He's a monster and a rapist. No different than you.”

Her words cut deep.

_Monster?_

Perhaps. Plenty of things he's done in the pursuit of peace could certainly be considered monstrous to the uninitiated. Hux accepts what others refuse to acknowledge. Peace carries a steep price. If anyone knows, he does. He’s paid it, time and again. He’s ready to pay it one more time.

But, rapist?

Other than a handful of stolen kisses, he's done no such thing.

Her obvious deceptions flood his veins with molten anger.

“Dagobah, Rey. The way you let him—”

She jerks in his arms, cutting his words short. He bars his arm across her chest, holding tight. When she doesn’t stop, Hux catches her beneath the chin with his free hand, fingers splaying across her jaw. The back of her head digs into the hollow of his shoulder.

"I know what I saw," he hisses in her ear.

Rey lets out an anguished yell. She goes slippery in his grasp until she breaks free. The binders let out a high-pitched double beep and fall, useless, to the floor. Hux swallows hard against his rising panic, certain the collar will fall next. Once she’s free, he’s as good as dead.

Rey closes the space between her and Ren. She stops short of the carbonite, arms bowed behind her, fists clenched, collar still firmly in place.

“You’re a fool, Armitage Hux.”

It’s all falling apart and he fears she’s right. The realisation fuels his furious denial.

“I watched you! I saw the way you kissed him, undressed for him. I saw _everything_ you let him do to you before I shot—"

Rey howls and unleashes a violent kick against the thick edge of carbonite. The recoil knocks her into him. Hux stumbles back, dragging her with him until they regain their footing. He threads his arms beneath her armpits and curls his hands to his shoulders in an attempt to restrain her. It's a mistake.

She takes advantage of the additional leverage to raise both feet off the floor. Her legs coil in then snap forward, one after the other. Rey’s heels piston against the slab. The edge begins to splinter from the repeated impacts.

They'd warned him that the carbon freezing chamber on Cloud City had gone unused for too long, that the carbonite it produced would be substandard and brittle. All too easy to shatter under the right amount of stress. There hadn’t been time to make proper repairs and now Hux is paying the price.

Cold fear replaces his fiery anger, turning his blood to ice.

He’s locked in place, reflexes dulled, body sluggish and disobedient against his orders to move.

_Move!_

It takes more strength than it should to pull her out of range. There’s no mistaking the heavy weight of the Force deadening his limbs.

Small, razor sharp shards of carbonite continue falling to the floor. Too late, Hux realises they're in trouble. The bits of falling carbonite interfere with the maglev generators. The first one shorts out, followed by a second. The top corner farthest from them cants toward the floor. Two more generators fail, unable to keep up with the increased load. The ship’s gravity does the rest.

Hux yells and rips through her tentative hold to heave them away from the fallout zone. His momentum sends them toppling. Hux loses his grip, landing hard on his back. He flings his arms across his face just in time. The durasteel beneath him resonates in time with the crystalline tinkle of shattered carbonite raining down around him.

As quick as he can, Hux props himself on his elbows, assessing the damage. The bottom corner closest to him is still caught in the levitation field while the opposite corner sits wedged between the floor and wall. The side that hit is out of view but it doesn’t matter. Even from across the room, the life support readout along the visible edge flashes a slow, steady green. Ren remains in deep hibernation. Relief floods through him.

It’s short-lived. Hux grunts in surprise, his attention shifting back to her too late to stop her from sinking her weight across his chest. Sharp bits of carbonite bite through his tunic and pierce his skin. Her knees land on either side of his ears. The familiar heaviness of the Force settles across his body like leaden weights, anchoring him beneath her.

Hux goes still as he tries to buy enough time to regain his breath.

Rey looks down at him, breathing just as fast, eyes wild, hair disheveled, tiny beads of blood dotting her face with crimson freckles. She’s heartbreakingly beautiful.

Thoughts of what could have been flood, unbidden, through his mind.

_She stands free and tall and proud, knowing he’ll love her forever and never leave her side. Together, they've put an end to the wars and hatred and dissent. Peace and prosperity for all. No longer are there lost little girls abandoned on desolate planets to fend for themselves nor little boys who must pay the price for the sins of their fathers. She is the last of her kind. They’ve made sure of it. Only their children remain, apple-cheeked and auburn-haired…_

Her eyes widen and a small huff of breath escapes her parted lips.

“Is that what you imagine when you look at me?” Her voice has a breathless quality that speeds his already racing heart.

Dread courses through him. Too late, Hux gains control over his rushing thoughts. They’ll do him no good now. His dreams are as dead as he’ll soon be. He raises the familiar walls of defense against her ability to read his thoughts.

“What?” He’s stalling, and more than that, he wants to be sure how much she’s seen, wants to hear her say the words.

She doesn’t repeat her question. Instead, Hux feels the unpleasant touch of her mind against his as she attempts to regain entry. He pushes back with more force than it takes to keep Ren out, unsurprised by her greater powers.

Her expression becomes unreadable.

“Why?” Rey’s eyes harden beneath damp lashes. “If that’s what you want, why didn’t you kill him when you had the chance?”

Hux shoves the unfamiliar feeling of uncertainty down deep and pushes through. The time for lies and deceit are over. He won’t be taken in by her false display of hatred for Ren. She has always been Ren’s and nothing he could do will have ever changed that.

His heart grows cold and hard.

“No more games, Jedi. Let’s end this.” He isn’t ready to die but sees no other outcome. “If you’re going to kill me, at least—”

A massive explosion thunders across the ship, rattling his teeth and shuddering through the floor. The second blast topples her from her perch atop him.

Hux rises on unsteady feet the moment she releases him from her Force hold.

“What—”

Another blast tears through the ship, closer and more violent, cutting the lights. Red emergency beacons flare to life as the klaxon alarms sound their dire warning. The backup generators aren’t enough to power the remaining maglevs. Large pieces of carbonite shear off when the slab crashes against the floor.

His comm ignites on his wrist, a cacophony of panicked voices fighting for his attention.

Hux switches to the emergency frequency and speaks, eyes locked on Rey in case she takes the opportunity to attack.

“Phasma, report.”

“Resistance fighters. They’ve breached the ship. We’re overrun. We need—” A barrage of smaller explosions breaks across the ship. He hears them burst through the comms a moment before he feels the impacts ripple beneath his boots. Static squeals from his wrist comm before clearing. _“... too many… ”_

Rey’s eyes are wide as saucers but she isn’t looking at Hux. He follows her gaze, gut twisting at what he sees.

Harsh bars of light stream from the spiderweb of cracks in the carbonite left by Rey’s boot heels. Ren’s frozen form pulses deep red beneath the alloy. Holes open in the carbonite at his eyes and mouth and fingers. Beams too bright to look at illuminate the chamber.

Hux snaps his attention to Rey. She’s backing away, hands in front of her face to shield her eyes. The logical part of him commands him to kill her while she’s vulnerable but his heart betrays him one final time.

 _“… sir… where… you?”_   The fear in Phasma’s voice is clear despite the growing cacophony in the background.

Rey spins toward him, eyes blazing.

“Go! Leave Kylo to me! Save as many as you can!” 

With his empire crumbling around him, Hux longs to kiss her one last time but it isn’t in the cards. Peace carries the steepest price.

“Armitage, _please go…”_

“I’ll come back for you.” It’s the only promise he’s ever made to anyone except himself.

Hux turns away to face the battle ahead, leaving her alone with Kylo Ren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reads, the kudos, and the comments!


	17. Winds of Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He rises from the hollowed shell, robes singed, movements quick and precise without a hint of drag or confusion. His eyes meet hers with an intensity that rivals sublimating carbonite. 
> 
> Rey takes a deep breath and accepts her destiny.
> 
> "Kylo Ren,” she says. “I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long-awaited reunion between Rey and Kylo Ren. From Rey's POV, as requested :)
> 
> Thanks for your patience

Rey doesn’t watch Hux retreat, her focus instead on the emerging form of Kylo Ren.

Another explosion rocks the ship but Rey barely notices. Ren’s strength flows into the Force, powerful, overwhelming, immense. His power has grown exponentially. She can _feel_ it. It’s as though the carbonite has stored up his power, multiplying it rather than weakening it. It churns around her, as choking and deadly as the sandstorms of her past.

Rey’s own power surges in response as more of the carbonite melts away. She has no weapon other than herself, doubts he does either. In a strange moment of clarity, she wonders if he’s nude beneath the rapidly disappearing alloy. It would be just like Hux to strip Ren before forcing him to submit to the carbon freezing.

The light emitted by the melting carbonite ceases, allowing Rey to see once more. She uncrosses her arms from in front of her face, her entire existence focused his way. Everything hinges on what comes next. Rey gathers all her traitorous intentions, shields them away behind the solid fortresses of her own newfound strength.

He rises from the hollowed shell, robes singed, movements quick and precise without a hint of drag or confusion. His eyes meet hers with an intensity that rivals sublimating carbonite.

Rey takes a deep breath and accepts her destiny.

"Kylo Ren,” she says. “I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

  

~*~

  

"Ben?"

It feels like hours since he last said anything.

"Shh, Kira. _Please."_

Her eyes fill with hot stinging tears that she refuses to let fall. She can't see his face, doesn't need to. She hears the grief and sorrow and shock in his voice. It roils between them in the Force, overwhelming and crushing.

When the last had fallen to his blade and the rest had turned and run in fear, they'd climbed aboard Luke's rickety old shuttle and fled the burning ruins of the last Jedi temple, Ben at the controls. Like his father before him, Ben was already a skilled pilot. He was also a skilled thief.

Luke's shuttle had lacked a hyperdrive so Ben had landed on the closest megalopolis where they'd abandoned Luke's junker for a civilian starship with a hyperdrive. She'd been terrified of getting caught but Ben had coaxed her into joining their powers to cloak their presence while he stole the ship he'd chosen.

Now, the blue-white coils of hyperspace break across ship’s main viewport. She moves closer, needs the comfort Ben's always offered so freely. When she slides up next to him, she finds him weeping at the controls, silent and broken. It's too much.

An anguished sob breaks free from her chest. Kira throws her arms around him in an awkward hug, her own tears soaking into his already damp robes. He smells of blood and fear and ozone.

Ben lets go of the ship's controls to gather her into his lap. He buries his face in her hair and allows himself to give voice to his own shock and pain.

"What's going to happen to us?" she asks when they've both calmed enough to speak again.

"Nothing's going to happen to you, Kira. I won't let it."

"But, I—I—Master Luke—" The rest of the words won’t come. If she doesn’t speak it, then it isn’t true.

"No one but me knows what really happened. We can let them believe it was all me, only me."

"No!"

"Kira. He was going to kill us."

"Why?" She’s heartbroken.

Ben's eyes fill with tears but unlike her own, his are savage tears of rage.

"I don't know," he whispers and holds her tighter. "I'm taking you home, sweetheart."

Panic seizes her heart. She doesn’t want to go back to the place where the people meant to care for her are neglectful at best, cruel at worst.

"No! I want to stay with you! Please, Ben, _please!"_ She digs into him with everything she has, refusing to let go.

"It's too late.” He swallows a sob. “There's no need for both of us to suffer."

He breaks them apart and tucks a strand of hair that has fallen from her topmost bun behind her ear.

"We can't be together anymore. It’s not safe. When I'm near you, the darkness…” He chokes back another sob before continuing. “I can't be responsible. I won't do it, Kira. I won't take you with me to the dark side."

The gravity of his admission punches a hole in her chest.

She begs and pleads, finally resorting to kicking and biting and scratching, all to no avail.

He quiets her with the Force, making her listen.

“It’s the price, Kira. Me for you. It’s too late for me. It’s been too late for a long time. But it’s not too late for you. I had to, Kira. _I had to!”_

He keeps her pinned in her seat with the Force for the remainder of the trip.

When they reach Jakku, familiar desert solitude greets her with its dry, sucking heat. Kira hates the smell.

"Her parents? Mmm...dead. Somewhere in the desert." The hulking Crolute rasps in a greedy, knowing breath. "I'll give you ten portions for her."

Ben’s face, already pale, whitens. Sweat drips freely from his chin and the ends of his hair, a combination of oppressive heat and exertion.

He keeps her subdued by exploiting their connection. Ben pushes with their combined Force, using it to persuade the junk boss to watch over Rey in exchange for a large quantity of blackmarket Imperial credits. The effort of keeping her subdued and manipulating the junk boss into following his commands drains him.

The moment the slave trader agrees to Ben’s terms, Ben’s hold on the Force snaps. He turns to her on shaky legs then falls to one knee so that they are eye to eye.

Tears burst from her eyes as she flings her arms around his neck. She’s never held onto anything tighter than she’s holding on to him now.

He wraps long arms around her and pulls her close.

“I’ll come back for you, sweetheart.”

It’s the last thing he says to her before drawing away and resuming his hold over her.

Unable to move, the only thing she can do is watch him board the ship. Tears stream down her cheeks as the ship rockets away.

The distance between them grows too far, snapping his hold and giving Kira back her voice.

_“Noooo! Come baaaack!”_

She keeps screaming even when the big round man with the flat face grabs her arm and shushes her.

“I’ll be good! Ben! I’ll never do it again! Never, ever, ever, _please…”_

 

~*~

 

Ren’s eyes glow like rubies in the harsh glare of the emergency lights.

“Kylo Ren?” he asks without any hint of emotion. “What happened to Ben?”

Rey doesn’t hesitate.

“He was weak and foolish, like his father. So, you killed him.” She answers as if it's the simplest thing in the galaxy.

If she’s hit a chord or struck a blow, he doesn’t show it.

“You came back,” he says instead. “You always do, Rey.”

The explosions have stopped, replaced by the furious pounding of her heart. A deathly quiet settles over the ship, broken only by the heavy drone of its massive engines.

Her mind skids toward thoughts she doesn’t want exposed. Rey replaces them with a static image of a thousand, thousand scratch marks etched into the rusting durasteel of a long-dead war.

“I understand my place in all this,” she says. “I know what it is and what to do with it.”

Ren moves for the first time since he freed himself from the carbonite, drawing closer with two long strides until he’s within reaching distance.

“You do?” His gaze rakes across her body before he meets her stare. When he speaks again, his voice has dropped. “Ah, you do. I can see it.” The words spin out, silken and alluring. His eyes close and he breathes in. “I can _feel_ it.”

Despite her revulsion, Rey holds her ground when he opens his eyes and moves into her space. She refuses to look away as he threads his fingers into her hair. His other hand flattens against her cheek then he’s drawing her up until she’s stretched onto her tiptoes.

She waits until his breath touches her lips. He grunts when she freezes him in place before he can kiss her.

“You know what we have to do.” Rey echoes his words back to him, reminding him of what they are together.

Ren smiles. And it’s _terrifying._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reads, the kudos, and the comments!
> 
> ~*~
> 
> I'd love to know what you think happens next.


	18. No Quarter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even now, when she absolutely knows the score, Ren's voice when he says her name still holds so much power over her. There's too much between them for her to simply walk away.
> 
> She grinds her teeth in frustration, furious that her _need_ for him still lives.
> 
>  _Fuck!_  
> 
> She reminds herself which one of them is predator and which is prey. It keeps her fear at bay. What she’s doing is _right._ She’s so sure of it she pushes through her doubts. 
> 
> “For once in your life, be quiet and _listen,”_ she hisses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Housekeeping: Mind the new Archive Warning
> 
> ~*~
> 
> A/N: Stage fright. It's a real thing in writing. 
> 
> I hope you'll find this worth the wait. This and the next two chapters have been difficult to write. So much hinges on them and I want to do them justice. 
> 
> There are seven chapters remaining.

The brutal smile splits his lips, revealing the sharp, savage teeth of a predator.

“Rey.” His voice pours out like liquid velvet, suffocating in its soft richness. The sound pools low in her belly, heavy with the unwanted pull of their undeniable connection.

Even now, when she absolutely knows the score, his voice when he says her name still holds so much power over her. There's too much between them for her to simply walk away.

She grinds her teeth in frustration, furious that her _need_ for him still lives.

_Fuck!_

She reminds herself which one of them is predator and which is prey. It keeps her fear at bay. What she’s doing is _right._ She’s so sure of it she pushes through her doubts.

“For once in your life, be quiet and _listen,”_ she hisses.

Rey’s strong enough to subdue him into complete stillness but chooses not to. Doing so would be counterproductive, ending their conversation while at the same time revealing her far greater power. He’s so caught up on his own influx of strength, he hasn’t noticed hers. She means to keep it that way as long as possible.

The smile slides off his face as he goes quiet and still.

She nudges him in the Force, making him step back before releasing him.

“Ben… ” Rey lets the word resonate between them.

“Is dead. You said so yourself.”

“Quiet!”

Though his expression turns stormy, Ren remains silent and still.

"Did they tell you? Or are you still in the dark?" she asks.

At this, furious laughter bubbles up from her chest. Unable to control it, she rides it to the end where it morphs into a series of harsh hiccoughs before fading away. The tension holding her breaks, giving her an opportunity to put space between them.

"You are not the Chosen One, Kylo Ren. You never were. How could you be? You were born of a human father. It's the reason you'll never be as strong as Vader. He came closest but even he failed in the end. They tricked you, lied to you, practically handed you to Snoke on a silver-lined platter. It’s why even now, after all you’ve given to the dark side, you can’t kill your pull to the Light."

His expression turns furious but he remains unmoving.

"Careful, Rey."

"Shut up and _listen!"_

The explosions from earlier have been replaced by volleys of blaster fire and the rising pitch of oncoming war. Time is running out.

“You were right,” she says. “You were always right.”

All that lies between them riots through the Force.

“About what?” he asks. The excitement lighting his eyes tells her he already knows the answer.

There’s no looking away as peels off his left glove. He’s not in her space, not yet. He doesn’t need to be. She knows exactly what he intends the moment his hands are bare. It’s never been any different.

Rey opens herself, lets it in.

“What was I right about?”

She watches him tug the last finger free of the leather and swears she can feel the pull deep in her belly.

“Say it." He won't ask again.

 _… i’ll be the one to turn_  
_i’ll stand with you. ben..._

Rey pulls her gaze away from his hands and up to his eyes.

“Give me back what is mine, what has always been mine,” she says. “And, I’ll return what is yours. Let’s finish this, finish them.”

The collar around her neck whirs. Ren watches it slide free with a look of distaste. His eyes flinch when it hits the floor with a metallic ring.

The Force rises inside her, swift and chaotic, no longer held back by the restraint.

“To the victor belong the spoils,” she says. “Let’s end this.”

“You would see them destroyed?”

“Yes.”

“All of them?”

“No quarter. No prisoners.” Rey reaches toward him.

His gaze flicks to her offered hands then back to her. Distrust boils through their connection.

Rey gathers her strength and pushes into his mind.

Ren pulls in a sharp breath at what she reveals.

"They're more powerful than you know," he says.

"They're no match for us. You know it's true."

“The penalty for failure is death,” he says.

“We will not fail.”

“Are you afraid?” he asks.

“Yes.”

"Good. Ready?"

"Yes."

Ren takes her hands, his touch electrifying and chaotic. Her vision blanks, swallowed up by the darkness manifesting between them.

 _… peace is a lie_  
_there is only passion…_

 _… through passion_  
_i gain power…_

 _… through power_  
_i gain victory…_

 _… through victory_  
_my chains are broken…_

"The Force shall set us free." Rey finishes the incantation aloud.

The air riots around her, pummeling her without mercy. If not for Ren’s strong grip on her, she’d be smashed apart and scattered like so much stardust across the galaxy. Panic constricts her chest making it impossible to pull air into her lungs. A pathetic wheeze escapes her.

_breathe_

She can’t even though she’s dying.

_you’re not dying… breathe_

When she remains paralyzed, he pushes hard, expanding her chest for her. Cool, blessed air roils into her lungs. He does it again and again until she takes over.

Her vision clears but only enough to see him. Everything else remains cloaked in darkness.

Ren forges ahead without waiting for her to recover. The connection between them opens wide.

Rey seizes upon his strength, drawing from it. The remaining darkness resolves into fast-moving brightly coloured static not unlike the pulse of hyperspace.

_good, rey… reach out… take control of them_

The stormtroopers are easiest, their minds already softened. Still, there are so _many_ of them even after the massive losses the First Order suffered on Starkiller Base. Rey’s knees nearly buckle at the immense inpouring of feedback from hundreds of sentient beings.

Ren holds tight and meets her with an influx of strength.

_keep going… i’ll help you_

Rey locks on, taking command of each bright ball of consciousness.

_now, the officers_

It’s easier, less jarring than the troopers. There are a handful who resist. Without waiting, Rey draws from Ren. All but one submit to her control. Even with Ren’s help, she can’t find a way in to the last holdout.

_hux…_

_… is mine… forget him… subdue the insurgents!_

Though Rey has control of the stormtroopers, she isn’t commanding them. Their immobility makes them easy targets. The Resistance fighters mow through the docile troopers.

The spreading panic of hundreds draws up like a rising tsunami. Rey fights to keep control, fists clenched, body straining. It’s so hot her skin is about to ignite.

Ren steps in, taking control of the Resistance fighters and ending their attack.

_Hold the rest… breathe and hold…_

Calm stillness settles across her shoulders. Rey breathes in. When she exhales, she tightens her control against all who would oppose them.

“Let’s finish this,” Ren says.

He uses the Resistance Fighters to capture Hux and drag him before the assembled masses.

An unexpected jolt of regret crashes through her. There’s no hiding it.

Everything grinds to a halt except the confusion and panic roiling across everything. Ren’s eyes widen.

“You would spare him?” Ren asks.

Rey claws at the offending emotion, scraping it from her mind.

“No. I want to be the one who takes his life.”

“No quarter?” he asks.

“No prisoners,” she answers.

Rey smiles and begins the killing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reads, the kudos, and the comments.


End file.
